Cuesta Women's Volleyball shall host a CCCAA Southern California Regional Play-In game this Saturday (5 PM) against the Fullerton. The 15th-seeded Cougars welcome the 17th-seeded Hornets as Cuesta returns to the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Cougars finished the regular season with a 14-10 overall record and in 4th place in the Western State Conference, while the Hornets earned their playoff berth on the strength of their 15-12 record and a 5th place finish in the Orange Empire Conference. The winner of Saturday's match moves on to the Top 16 and face either 1st-seed Bakersfield or 2nd-seed Pasadena, depending on the outcome of the other play-in game between 15th-seed College of the Canyons and 18th-seed Mt San Jacinto.
The Cougars and Hornets not faced each other this season, however they do share four common opponents. They both beat LA Mission, Cuesta did it twice, and both swept Folsom Lake, while they also were both swept by #6-seed Moorpark. Cuesta was also swept twice by #5-seed Santa Barbara City, while Fullerton pushed the Vaqueros to five-sets, before losing their only meeting with the Vaqueros. Fullerton sat out the 2020-21 season but reached the playoffs in both 2018 and 2019.
The Cougars are led by a pair of returning freshmen, Outside Hitter Christelle Mouret (Morro Bay HS) and Setter Kelsey Courtney (Cincinnati, OH). Both players have etched themselves into Cuesta's career record board, despite playing only seven matches in their pandemic abbreviated freshmen campaigns. Mouret leads the Cougars with 185 Kills and set a new Cuesta season-record with 49 service aces. She also leads the Cougars with 185 kills and is third on the team with 176 digs. Courtney ranks 9th all time with 747 assists at Cuesta, including a team-high 554 this season. Courtney also leads the team with 202 digs. The Cougars also rely heavily on their frontline. Middle Blockers Morgan Krause (Santa Maria: Pioneer Valley HS) and Meredith Donovan (Templeton HS) join Opposite Hitter Whitney Thompson (Arroyo Grande HS) as the "Cuesta Roofing Company". All three have each stuffed more than 40 blocks and landed over 100 kills this season. Thompson and Donovan are two of the team's most potent hitters. Thompson is second on the team with both 169 kills and a .287 hitting percentage, while Donovan has landed her 102 kills at a team-best .353 clip.
The Hornets' offense leans on a trio of big hitters, Sophomore Outside Hitter Faith Webb and freshmen McKenna Mokry and Hannah Wilmes. Webb leads Fullerton with 240 kills and 39 service aces, while Mokry and Wilmes are the only other Hornets to eclipse the century marks in kills, with 199 and 185, respectively. Wilmes is also second on the team with 29 total blocks, just one stuff behind team-leader Jade McIntyre. Setter Alicia Isa Domingo has compiled a team-high 329 assists to lead Fullerton's offense, while Libero Hannah Tobin has racked up 424 digs to solidify the defense.
