COD (1-0) made a statement in their opening match of 2018, squeaked out a solid three-set win over their intra-County opponent the Riverside City Tigers (0-1), 25-22, 25-21 and 25-21.

In set one, Desert opened with a 4-0 lead in the set, but the Tigers would fight their way back to tie the score at 5-5 and just as the Roadrunners would try to build another lead, Riverside would tie it again. Desert would then build a healthy 21-16 lead as the Tigers would start chipping away, and as Riverside got to within three points, 22-19, the Roadrunners called their first time out. Immediately after the time out, the Tigers banged out two more points to get to within one, 22-21, forcing Desert head coach Det Rothe to call his second time out. The timeout proved to be a brilliant move as the Roadrunners rolled up two more points quickly and sealed the first set on a kill by sophomore middle blocker Nicole Svoboda (La Quinta H.S.).

In set two, the set took a violent turn as Desert would find themselves up by a lot, then tied and then up by a lot and then tied. The Roadrunners built a 9-5 lead, then the Tigers tied it up and then the Roadrunners built a four point lead, led by three kills from freshman outside hitter Kelsey Smith (Delta, BC South Delta Secondary), taking a 14-10 lead and then that lead started to get whittled away. And then as the Roadrunners started to surge for a final push, collecting a 20-15 lead, Riverside called their first time out. Desert responded after that time out by rattling off four more points to get to set point and then the Tigers rolled six straight points to make the score 24-21, as the Roadrunners called their second time out. Right out of the time out, sophomore outside hitter Baylie Dashner (La Quinta H.S.) made the kill off the left side of the net and Desert grabbed a commanding 2-0 lead.

In set three, Dashner opened up with a service ace and that was a great sign, but the Tigers would not relent as the game was tied all the way up to 14-14. Then a Riverside hitting error and two kills by Dashner gave the Roadrunners some breathing room at 17-14 and forced the Tigers to call their first time out. That three-point lead would hold until Riverside had to call their second time out at 21-18, immediately out of the time out, Smith was gifted a Tigers defensive mistake which she pounded into the floor with authority to give Desert a four-point lead. At that point the Riverside spirit had been shattered as Smith crushed a second kill from the left side giving the Roadrunners a 24-20 lead.

Sophomore setter Ashtyn Lyneis (Palm Springs H.S.) led the team with 39 assists, had 2 service aces and had 15 digs and Dashner led the team with 16 kills and had 2 service aces. Smith had 13 kills and Svoboda led the team with 5 block assists.

Freshman opposite Kendal Campbell (White Rock, BC Semiahmoo Secondary) had 4 block assists and sophomore libero Emily Sundback (Rancho Mirage H.S.) led the team with 21 digs.

The Roadrunners defeated the Tigers for the first time since 2014 and the win gives Desert a narrow 8-7 edge on the all-time record over Riverside City. Next season, both the Roadrunners and the Tigers will be in the same Athletic Conference as the newly created, Inland Empire Athletic Conference will be formed at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season of sport.

The next game for COD is on the road as they travel to the Pirate Quad at Orange Coast College this Friday, August 31, where they will open up against Glendale at 2 p.m. and then face the host, Orange Coast, at 4 p.m. The next home game for the Roadrunners is Wednesday, September 5 against the East Los Angeles Huskies at 5 p.m.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information & Story provided by COD Sports Information. Photo by Michael Leone Photography (f8leone@yahoo.com)