College of the Redwoods Athletics – From left to right, Perla Ceballos, Abby Costello-Anderson and Zoe Zerlang.

The College of the Redwoods women played the first of two challenging games in Oregon in preparation for their upcoming conference schedule on Wednesday.

The Corsairs begin conference play late next week and will have tough matchups right out of the gate against Butte and powerhouse Feather River.

And with that in mind, head coach Petra Lorenzi scheduled two tough pre-conference games in Oregon for this week and next, including a Wednesday matchup at Southwestern Oregon, which they lost in straight sets, 25-18, 25-19, 25-19.

“We lost in three, but it was a great game for us,” Lorenzi said. “We come up here to help get us ready to go in conference.”

The CR women continued to impress defensively against the tough SWOCC hitters and they continue to build confidence.

“Our defense tonight, I think, will give them the confidence they can dig a hitter no matter how hard they come at us,” the head coach said.

Heavenn Fults had a good day at libero and finished with 12 digs and three aces, while Perla Ceballos added 10 digs while adjusting to a different role on defense.

“She did a pretty good job playing disciplined defense,” Lorenzi said of Ceballos.

Abby Costello-Anderson had a team-high six kills, while Zoe Zerlang and Lily LaRue each added four kills and have been impressing their coach with their play in the middle.

The experienced Mia Holcomb also played well at setter.

“Mia is doing a phenomenal job,” Lorenzi said. “She is probably the best setter CR has seen in years.”

The Corsairs (4-8) will head to Oregon again on Monday to play Umpqua in what should be another challenging game, before opening the Golden Valley Conference at Butte on Friday of next week.