Santa Rosa took home the win in Friday night’s game against the Hawks, winning 3-1. The game was a do-or-die match as this game could have broken the ten-game losing streak for the Hawks. Friday’s game was also about raising money for breast cancer awareness and for the victims of the California wildfires.

The Hawks team was selling Cosumnes River College Volleyball merchandise and collecting money for the victims of the wildfires.

“I was very happy,” said Hawks Middle Blocker Tayla Burgess. “We actually raised a lot of money.”

In the first set of the game, the Hawks played strong, taking the lead in the first few minutes. Hawks Outside Hitter Kelsey Brehm made a strong serve to score for the Hawks. The first set was a battle to maintain the lead, with the Hawks scoring several points. Santa Rosa regained control of the first set, winning 25-20.

During the second set of the game, the Hawks took the first points and dominated the first half of the set, taking the lead 8-5. Hawks Outside Hitter Rebakkah McLaughlin set up a great play, maintaining their lead. Santa Rosa was not far behind though, as they regained the lead by two points midway into the second set 17-15 and won the set 25-22. This game came very close.

“I feel like we could have won,” said Hawks Middle Blocker, Elizabeth Smith. “There were a lot of little mistakes we made that can be fixed in practice.”

By the third set, the Hawks were totally in control of their game.  The Hawks had good blocking and kept the lead throughout the entire third set. Hawks Defensive Specialist Maya Young assisted in scoring points, leading the Hawks to win 25-10 in the third set and sweeping Santa Rosa.

“I felt like there were times we didn’t feel like we were together, but towards the end, we figured out our rhythm and started executing better,” said Hawks Defensive Specialist Justine Busse.

Busse also said that the team will be working hard to improve.

“We’re going to come to practice ready on Monday and work even harder; figure out the little things that didn’t work and work through them,” said Busse.

In the final set, the Hawks were neck and neck with Santa Rosa. In the first half of the set, the score was 13-13. Santa Rosa broke the tie midway and won the final set 25-22.

The Hawks are now preparing for their next game against San Joaquin Delta. There are two more weeks of games left in the season.

“There were a lot of good things in this game,” said Hawks Assistant Coach Brandon Merritt.  “We fought hard and played hard; Santa Rosa is just a really good team.”