After playing their first six games on the road, the Rio Hondo Lady’s volleyball team finally found themselves in a familiar setting on the first day of September. The Lady Roadrunners hosted the Fullerton Hornets in the gym at Rio Hondo, and only needed the first three sets to earn the victory.

Rio Hondo’s Lady Roadrunner volleyball team hasn’t gotten off to the best of starts. They lost five of their first six prior to Friday night’s matchup with Fullerton. As previously mentioned, however, those first six games were all away games. It was not a surprise to see the Lady Roadrunners come out of the gates blazing in their first home match.

The Lady Roadrunners and the Hornets went back-and-forth in the first half of the first set. Rio Hondo was eventually able to get some consistent play, though, and pulled away late. They took the first set 25-19. The second set of the match was a lopsided one; the Lady Roadrunners were dominant from the jump, easily winning the set with a score of 25-14.

Much like the second set, Rio Hondo got off to a great start in the third. The Lady Roadrunners were able to work up a five-point lead early on in the set. The Fullerton Hornets came buzzing their way back, however. They were able to keep the game tight until the very end.

The two teams were tied at 24, but a mistake on Fullerton’s end and a perfectly placed tip gave Rio Hondo the last two points. The Lady Roadrunners took the third and final set 26-24.

Teddi Esko, head coach of the Rio Hondo Lady Roadrunners volleyball team, is aware of the team’s bumpy start to the season, but proudly acknowledged her team’s hard work after Friday’s game.

“We’ve been training so hard,” Coach Esko said, with a look of relief and joy mixed on her face. “We struggled at the beginning of the season, and for us to actually tie everything we been working on in a training session, in our first home match tonight, against a good Fullerton team… we just clicked on all cylinders. It was really fantastic to see everybody do their job on the court. We executed our game plan and the result came in our favor.”

The Lady Roadrunners improved their record to 2-6 on the season with the win over Fullerton. They play at Antelope Valley in their next match on September 6. The Rio Hondo Lady’s volleyball team will look to string together consecutive wins for the first time this season.