Cuesta Women's Volleyball hosted a North-South Crossover Tournament this weekend between the four teams on the opposite ends of Big Sur.  The Cougars were joined by Western State Conference rival Santa Barbara City to represent the South end, while Monterey Peninsula and Hartnell carried the banner for both the North Region and the Coast Conference.  Today it was all South as both the Vaqueros and Cougars picked up a pair of wins against the North.  

The Cougars opened against a previously undefeated Monterey Peninsula squad riding high on a six-match winning streak.  The two teams split the first two sets, with the Cougars taking the first set of the day, 25-22, and the Lobos responding, 25-16, to even the match.  In the third set, after trading the first 17 points, Cuesta went on a 6-2 run to build a 15-10 lead and never looked back.  The Cougars claimed the third set, 25-18, and closed the match in four sets, 25-17, to hand Monterey its first setback of both the day and the season.  

In the nightcap, Cuesta also handed #24 Hartnell its second loss of the day.  Hartnell, like Monterey Peninsula, was a playoff team last season and, like Santa Barbara City, reached the 2022 CCCAA Regional Finals, however the Cougars also made quick work of them.  Hartnell took the opener after breaking a 20-20 tie and racing to the victory, 25-22, but Cuesta's Spikers grabbed the momentum at the halfway mark of the second set, 13-12, and, despite needing four chances at game-point, evened the match, 25-19.    After that, it was all Cougars.  Cuesta fell behind 11-9 in the second set but grabbed 15 of the next 20 points and battled through Hartnell's game-point stand, to tie the match, 25-19.  Both teams went toe-to-toe to open the 3rd set and were tied at 17-all, when a timeout called by the Panthers precipitated a 7-3 run to game-point by the Cougars at 24-20.  Hartnell held on to fall, 25-22, but then also dropped the fourth set and the match by the same score, 25-22, as Cuesta won its third straight match and improved to 7-6 on the season.  Coach Whitney Meyer said of her team's big day against favored foes, "We are proud of the way they are bonding and showing great fight.  We are undefeated at home!"  

Cuesta is back in action this week against the Western State Conference South Division.  The Cougars travel to Culver City on Wednesday (6 PM) to play West Los Angeles and shall also play Antelope Valley in Lancaster on Friday (6 PM).