Golden West, the seven-time defending state champion, ran its winning streak to 76 consecutive matches with a pair of Orange Empire Conference victories last week (Oct. 18-20).
The Rustlers swept district rival Orange Coast Wednesday by scores of 15-5, 15-8, and 15-9. Natalie Snowden (Fountain Valley High) led the way for the Rustlers with 10 kills, four blocks, and 15 digs, while Sarah Boogaard (Valley Christian High) added 10 kills and 17 digs for the winners. Grace Boyd (Marina High) chipped in nine kills and a match-best seven blocks.
The match was originally scheduled to be played at Orange Coast, but was moved due to ongoing construction on the Pirate gym. The November 10 match between the two teams will now be played at Orange Coast.
Friday, the Rustlers cruised past Cypress by scores of 15-4, 15-2, and 15-0. Snowden paced the winners with 11 kills and Raimi Mitchell (Narbonne High) had seven kills for the Rustlers.
Golden West (11-0, 6-0) has a pair of road conference games on the slate this week. The Rustlers will play at Saddleback (10-4, 4-2) Wednesday at 7 p.m. and at Fullerton (4-8, 2-4) Friday at 7 p.m. Both opponents are coached by former Rustler players. Karen Jacobsen (Saddleback) played on Golden West state championship teams in 1990 and 1991, and Eddie Rapp (Fullerton) was an all-conference setter for the Rustler men's team in 1987 and 1988.
The Rustlers also play a pair of non-conference games on Sunday at Fresno Pacific University. Golden West will play third-ranked San Joaquin Delta (11-1) at 1 p.m. and ninth-rated Fresno City (6-2) at 3 p.m.
