Cougars sweep Reedley, edged 3-2 by West Hills Coalinga

The Taft College women's volleyball team nearly had a perfect week but had to settle for a split of its two Central Valley Conference matches at home. On Wednesday, the Cougars rolled to a 3-0 sweep of Reedley College but fell 3-2 in a marathon five-set match to West Hills College Coalinga on Friday.

The Cougars were tested by Reedley but ultimately won the match by scores of 25-10, 25-22, 25-20. Madison Barcelona led the Taft offense with eight kills while Keala Skeele had seven kills and Jasmine Chipen-li had six.

Barcelona added a team-high five blocks and six digs to her impressive night. Janae Niutupuivaha led all with 18 digs and Taylor Tuliloa had a match-high 20 assists.

Taft battled against West Hills but unfortunately finished on the losing end of the five-set match. The Cougars took the opening set before falling behind 2-1. They rallied for 12-point victory in the fourth to force a deciding fifth set but came up just short. Final scores were 22-25, 25-15, 28-26, 13-25, 15-13.

After the week's action, Taft is now 6-17 overall and 4-7 in CVC play. The Cougars return to action on Wednesday (Oct. 30) when they travel to Porterville College for a 6 p.m. conference match.