Wednesday proved to be a rough evening for the Taft College women's volleyball team. Playing a pair of matches at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, the Cougars came out on the losing end of a pair of five-set nail biters.
Taft held 2-1 match score leads in both contests but fell 25-19, 19-25, 12-25, 25-20, 15-12 to Shasta College and 25-14, 21-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-11 to host Cosumnes River. TC dropped to 1-3 overall this season.
Despite the final outcomes, the Cougars got outstanding individual efforts from across the roster. Leading the way with a huge night was freshman middle blocker Kaimana Botelho-Patoc. She totaled 50 kills over the two matches, including a season-high 29 against Shasta. She added 25 digs (14 vs. Shasta) as well as two blocks and two aces.
Freshman Jada Dias was excellent on offense as well, totaling 24 kills, 20 digs, and four aces. Freshman Kayla Iwata had matches of 37 and 31 assists and totaled 32 digs, nine kills, and 10 aces.
Taft will look to get back on track on Friday (Sep. 10) when the Cougars travel to De Anza College for a 3 p.m. non-conference match. TC is back home on Sep. 15 to host West Hills College Coalinga in its Central Valley Conference opener.