Jordan Ninmer of Santa Ana College celebrates a point last week. (Photo courtesy Santa Ana College sports information)
In a non-conference match against Southwestern College on Friday, the Santa Ana College women’s volleyball team swept the Jaguars in three sets 25-19, 25-14, 25-18.
Santa Ana imposed its will from the start with a 6-0 run to set the tone. Myrandah Zepeda put away seven kills in the set to lead the Dons to a 25-19 opening win.
The second set was more evenly matched until the Dons made a late run with Ally Wardlow. With the score at 17-12, Santa Ana found its groove and went on a 6-0 run to pull away, eventually taking the set 25-14.
In the third set, the Dons used a couple more long runs to earn a 25-18 win to complete the sweep and capture their fourth win of the season.
Wardlow’s serves gave the Jaguar passers fits all night as she collected five service aces while posting 17 digs.
Zepeda recorded 14 kills on 26 attempts with six digs to lead the Dons offensively while Elizabeth Merold added eight kills, five digs and five block assists. Jordan Ninmer ran a smooth offense as she picked up 20 assists.
The win puts an end to the five game losing streak for the Dons (4-10 overall).
The Dons return to Orange Empire Conference play on Wednesday, Oct. 16 when they host Saddleback at 6 p.m.
SANTA ANA FOOTBALL TEAM TOPS LA SOUTHWEST 36-31
In its first American Metro League game of the season, the Santa Ana College football team outdueled LA Southwest College to pick up a 36-31 win.
Two plays later, LASW got on the board with a 98-yard pass from Cameron Thomas to Deion Malone to make it a 6-0 game following a missed extra point.
Santa Ana responded on its next possession with a 65-yard drive that ended in a 4-yard touchdown run from Cross Faletoi.
After a field goal from the Cougars, the Dons jumped ahead again as Faletoi connected on a pass with Joshua Rice for a 6-yard touchdown to give SAC a 14-9 lead before halftime.
The second half was full of big plays, starting with 70 touchdown run from the Cougar quarterback Thomas make the score a 16-14 in LA Southwest’s favor.
SAC continued to answer back as it used a six play, 51 yard drive with Cole Nequette punching in a 2-yard run to take back the lead. The Dons then used that momentum to get a couple stops and a critical touchdown from Rice to extend their lead to 28-16 with 2:55 remaining in the third quarter.
LASW’s Thomas came right back with his second passing touchdown of the game to begin the fourth quarter, cutting the SAC lead to 28-23.
But the Dons found a way to put one more in the end zone as Christopher Garcia ran in a for a 6-yard touchdown to seal the game at the 4:30 mark of the fourth.
The Dons used two quarterbacks in this one with Faletoi going 16-25 with 154 passing yards while Garcia took the helm down the stretch, finishing 6-of-11 with 58 yards. Both quarterbacks had a passing and rushing touchdown.
Nequette rushed for 95 yards on 25 attempts to lead all SAC backs. Rice pulled down two touchdowns to go with eight catches and 67 yards while Tyler Shimomura caught seven passes for 65 yards to help the Dons aerial attack.
The Dons (2-3, 1-0) recorded 476 yards of offense and scored at least 30 points for the third time this season.
Defensively, Justin Stepanian led Santa Ana in tackles with seven and a sack. Garrett Hawkins and Jacob Domino were right behind him with five tackles a piece.
CROSS COUNTRY TEAM CAPTURES THIRD PLACE
The Santa Ana cross country team hosted the 2019 Brubaker Invitational on Friday morning.
Despite the tough weather conditions, Giovanni Barajas pulled away from the pack to win his third straight race with a time of 20:29.0.
MEN’S SOCCER TIES CYPRESS IN CONFERENCE MATCH
The No. 16 ranked Santa Ana men’s soccer team battled No. 9 Cypress to a 2-2 tie in Friday’s Orange Empire Conference match. They were trying to get back into the race for an OEC championship with a win against Irvine Valley at home Tuesday.
WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM LOSES TO CYPRESS COLLEGE
No. 9 Santa Ana women’s soccer held possession for much of the first half against No. 4 Cypress in Friday’s Orange Empire Conference contest. But fatigue and a few mental errors led to their third loss of the season as the Chargers pulled out a 3-0 win.
—Courtesy Santa Ana College sports information
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