Thanks to a 3-1 showing and second-place finish at the highly-competitive San Joaquin Delta Classic, the College of San Mateo women's volleyball team rose seven spots to No. 6 in this week's California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association (CCCWVCA) state rankings.
The Bulldogs opened the event on Friday morning with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 16-25, 25-12) victory over Santa Rosa Junior College. That was followed by the first of two upsets, a 3-1 (25-15, 27-25, 21-25, 25-17) win over No. 3 Fresno City College later in the day.
Even bigger was a marathon five-set win over No. 1 American River College in Saturday's tournament semifinals. After dropping the first two set, San Mateo rallied to take the final three to win the match by scores of (23-25, 17-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-12).
Sophomore outside hitter Naomie Cremoux had a tremendous match, leading CSM with 26 kills while hitting .340 for the contest. Sophomore middle blocked Valerie Bruk added 13 kills, freshman libero Ashley Chacon had a team-high 15 assists, and sophomore setter Angelina Estrada paced the offense with 42 assists.
Despite momentum on their side, the Bulldogs saw their amazing run come to an end with a 3-0 (25-7, 25-16, 25-11) loss to defending state champion and No. 2 (now No. 1) state-ranked Feather River College in the championship final.
Cremoux did all she could to keep CSM in the match, posting a team-high 11 kills and 7 digs.
For their standout play at the two-day event, Cremoux and Chacon were named to the All-Tournament team.
CSM is now 5-3 overall and returns to action on Wednesday (Sep. 14) when the Bulldogs host Sierra College in a 5 p.m. non-conference game.
