The Moorpark Raiders rolled past the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties in three straight sets (25-12, 25-11, and 25-15) as they open the postseason with a victory.

The sweep did not appear so evident from the start when the Mounties took an early 5-2 lead. The Raiders started out very slow, missing the mark with a couple kills, and making some defensive mistakes. Sophomore outside hitter Una Siljegovic kept the Raiders in the game by scoring their first five points.

Despite the slow start, the tide turned for the Raiders when they took their first lead of the set at 8-7, which sparked a 13-2 run to push the lead to 12 points at 21-9. The Raiders frontline stepped it up late, and closed out the set 25-12.

The Raiders frontline proved to be too much for the Mounties, as the Raiders used a 8-1 run to take a 12-4 lead in the second set. They never trailed, and stellar defense and execution on the offense allowed the Raiders to take the important second set 25-11.

The Mounties could not spark a miraculous comeback, and appeared to give up when the Raiders took an 8-1 lead, in what appeared to be target practice.

The Mounties cut the lead to as close as 5 points, but the Raiders pushed through the Mounties onslaught of desperation in route to a 25-15 victory ending the set and match.

Freshman middleblocker Chelcy Westphal believes her team has the talent to move deep into the playoffs, but knows her team must step up their game because of the increased level of competition.

“All the teams are really good,” she said. “But I think we know we can do it.”

The Raiders look to build off their first-round playoff victory as they face Orange Coast College in the second-round on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m.