COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Cuesta Beats Saddleback, Advances to State Tournament

Cuesta College, ranked No. 3 in the state, ended Saddleback’s first trip to the playoffs in 10 years, defeating the Gauchos, 15-6, 15-10, 15-6, Tuesday in a Southern California Regional women’s volleyball match at Cuesta.

Heather Mead had 27 assists, Cyndi Rhone had 11 kills and Laura Farrell had nine kills for Saddleback, which ended its season 16-4. Cuesta is 25-2 and advances to the state tournament Saturday at Citrus College in Glendora.

In another women’s volleyball Southern California Regional playoff match:

Cerritos 3, Golden West 0--Maureen Flannigan had 12 kills for the Rustlers (15-5), but Cerritos (13-4) swept, 15-3, 15-12, 15-3.

In nonconference men’s basketball:

Cypress 85, Rio Hondo 69--Vince Hizon, a sophomore guard from Mater Dei High School, made 10 of 13 shots from the field and scored 22 points for host Cypress. Eric Pauley, a 6-foot-10 freshman who played at Savanna High, scored 17 points, six rebounds and six blocks for Cypress, which took a 12-0 lead. Cypress led at halftime, 35-25, but Rio Hondo cut the lead to 53-50 with nine minutes remaining to play. A layup by Hizon with about six minutes left capped a 12-4 run and the Chargers (5-0) weren’t challenge by the Roadrunners (0-6) again.

In nonconference women’s basketball:

Orange Coast 72, Moorpark 43--The Pirates took a 38-14 halftime lead as they defeated previously unbeaten Moorpark (4-1) at Orange Coast. Kami Bigler scored 14 points, Michelle Hennessey had 10 assists and Erika Manning and Jennifer Ambrose each had eight rebounds for Orange Coast (6-1).