Cuesta Women's Volleyball, proud owner of three CCCAA State Titles since 1976, returned to the post-season for the first time since 2007 as the 16th-seed in the 2021 CCCAA Regional Playoffs.  The Cougars hosted the 17-seeded Fullerton Hornets in the CCCAA Regional Play-In match, with the winner moving on to the Round of 16.  In the first set, the Hornets hit their stride after breaking away from the Cougars at 9-8 and taking a 17-9 lead.  The two teams played even after the run, but Fullerton took control of the match, 25-17.  Cuesta carried its late run from the first set into the second and evened the match with a win, 25-23.  The crucial third set was most of the same, in fact from the second set and continuing into the first 40 points of the third the Cougars and Hornets were even at 44-44. Unfortunately for Cuesta, Fullerton took four of the last six points to take the set, 25-21, and put the Cougars on their heels down two games to one.   The final set was all Fullerton as the Hornets came out swinging and jumped out to a commanding lead, 20-9.  Cuesta rallied late in the set, but they were unable to make a dent in the Hornets lead as Fullerton advanced, 25-14, with a 3-1 victory.  

The Cougars did have some bright spots in the match, including Freshmen Hitters Whitney Thompson (Arroyo Grande HS) and Teagan Bryant (Exeter HS), who both landed career-highs in kills, with 17 and 11, respectively.  Thompson gave the Hornets fits all match as they could not find a way to stop her and when they mustered all their blockers over to stop her on the left side, Bryant found holes in their defense from the right-side.  Setter Kelsey Courtney (Cincinnati, OH) delivered perfect set after perfect set as she dished out a season-high 41 assists.   The Cougars ended their first playoff season since 2007 with a 14-11 overall record and as the 4th place team in the Western State Conference.

Fullerton is now 16-12 on the season and advances to the Round of 16, where they will face top-seeded Bakersfield (20-1).  The Hornets have not played the Renegades this season, but Cuesta hosted and fell to Bakersfield in a three-set (25-16, 25-19, 25-13) loss on November 6.