Photos by College of the Redwoods Athletics – From left to right, Ella Day, Lily LaRue and Zoe Zerlang.

The Corsairs are playing great defense and have plenty of depth on the volleyball court this year, and that’s why they’ve won three of their last four matches and why head coach Petra Lorenzi is excited about this team.

On Saturday, the College of the Redwoods women traveled to Mendocino for a pair of games and they came away with two victories, defeating both Los Medanos and Mendocino, both in five sets.

The CR women beat Los Medanos by a score of 24-26, 31-29, 26-24, 12-25, 15-11 and got the better of Mendo 25-23, 17-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-11

They continued to impress defensively, with several different players contributing.

“The whole team kind of came alive,” head coach Petra Lorenzi said. “We came alive defensively, and I think we can be one of the best defensive teams in the state. That’s what we recruited.”

The team’s lone sophomore, Zoe Zerlang of Fortuna, continued to impress and has taken her game to a whole new level this season.

“She had a great day all across the board,” Lorenzi said of Zerlang, who finished with 22 kills on the day and four blocks. “Along with the 13 kills (against Mendocino), she only had three errors. She was just an offensive threat and a defensive threat at the net.”

Against Los Medanos, Abby Costello-Anderson had a team-high 12 kills, while Lily LaRue added seven kills and defensive leader Perla Ceballos had 22 digs.

Heavenn Fults took over at libero against Mendocino and had a team-but 30 digs, while Ceballos continued to shine with 20 digs.

In the same match, Ella Day added 11 kills and “put some pop behind the ball,” according to the coach.

Mia Holcomb also had a double-double against the Eagles, finishing with 27 assists and 15 digs, while Haylee Howell added four aces and had “great energy on the court.”

“We’re getting it from every single person on the bench, and that’s what I love about this team,” Lorenzi said.

The Corsairs, who are now 3-4, will return home to host both Napa and Mendocino next Saturday.

“We’re on a roll and going in the right direction,” the head coach said.