THATCHER, Ariz. -- After a dramatic road win earlier in the week, the Yavapai College volleyball team headed to Eastern Arizona College Friday night for a matchup with the Gila Monsters. The Roughriders, however, were denied their second win of the week and lost in five sets to Eastern Arizona, moving their season record to 6-8 overall and 1-1 in ACCAC play. 

Sophomore middle blocker Paiten Langston put the Roughriders up 10-5 in set one with a ferocious kill straight to the gym floor. The Gila Monsters then responded with a big comeback, winning 16 of the next 23 points to go up 21-12, eventually winning the set by a score of 25-17. 

Set two could have been the end for Yavapai as it found itself in a 24-21 hole while being on the verge of going down two sets to zero. The Roughriders never waivered however and showed resilience. After a service error from Eastern Arizona, Yavapai recorded a block, kill off of a tipped ball and another block before seeing a Gila Monster error end the set, giving the Roughriders a 26-24 win. 

With the match tied 1-1, the Roughriders and Gila Monsters went back and forth throughout the entirety of set three, culminating in a 25-23 win for Yavapai. 

In set four, Eastern Arizona jumped out to a 16-11 lead, however, Yavapai earned four quick points on a service error, back-to-back aces and a kill off of a bad dig to bring the score to 17-16, forcing the Gila Monsters to take a timeout. 

After the timeout, Eastern Arizona scored five-consecutive points to bring the score to 22-16 and eventually won the set by a score of 25-20 to force a winner-take-all fifth set. 

The Roughriders started slow in set five and couldn't recover. After being down 8-2, Eastern Arizona went on to win 15-7. 

Up Next
The Roughriders are back in action Wednesday against Arizona Christian at 7 p.m. in Cottonwood, Arizona, at Mingus Union High School.