Due to the Cerritos College Aviary Gym being renovated, the Cerritos College women’s volleyball team (4-3) must play all of its nonconference games on the road, starting with the match up against the Fullerton College Hornets on Sept 15.

The Hornets dominated the Falcons in the sweep ending the matches 16-25, 17-25, 23-25.

“We need to practice harder, and just work on things. We will get better,” sophomore Chanelle Puou said.

Puou scored 13 kills with only three errors before injuring her foot.

Puou, who has been the biggest statistical producer for the Falcons this season, remains optimistic about a speedy recovery.

“I had to get treatment for my foot, but I’ll probably only be out for this week.”

Freshman libero April Perez believes the loss was due to a slow start.

“We were really hesitant in the beginning, and didn’t get better until later in the game.  Also, it was our first big game,” Perez says.

The Falcons looked to rebound in the San Diego Mesa Tournament last weekend. The team had to compete without Puou, who missed the tournament because of the injury suffered in the Fullerton game.

Several of the team’s freshmen, including Jessika Suesoff, Amber Finley, Lupe Garcia and Aundrea Stovall, were able to provide quality minutes in producing without Puou.

The Falcons picked up two wins and two losses over the course of the tournament.

The first win came over rival Palomar College, who they beat after being down two sets, 24-26 and 17-15. Their last three sets were one-sided victories, ending 25-13, 25-18 and 15-10, respectively.

Finley led the team with 14 kills in the game against Palomar, while her teammate Suesoff added 11 kills and 12 digs.                                                                                                                                          

Their next win came with a sweep of Diablo Valley College (25-22, 25-18, 25-21).    

Freshman outside hitter Yesenia Pacheco kept the tempo of the offense going in the match against Diablo Valley College when she posted 12 kills.

The Falcons will now begin their conference play against South Coast Conference opponents.

Home games will be at Gahr High School, while the construction is still on going.

“The [SCC] is open this year, and we have a positive attitude because of our youth and experience,” Perez said.

“We have a lot of younger players on the team who have never experienced playing in a conference and we think we can take it all this year.”

The Falcons will take on the East Los Angeles College Huskies on Oct. 1.