Lowden Named OEC Coach of the Year, Six Tigers Grab OEC Honors
After setting a new record for most Orange Empire Conference wins in a season, Riverside City College saw Clara Lowden named the Coach of the Year and six Tigers pick up all-conference honors.
Lowden led the Tigers to their best finish in the OEC with an 11-5 mark, surpassing the previous record set in 2016, where RCC finished fifth in the conference. Lowden, who is retiring at the end of the year, helped Riverside make back-to-back playoff appearances with the Tigers finishing with a 17-10 overall mark – the most wins since 2016 when RCC went 16-9 on the year.
Kilyn Hayes and Alyssa Bishop each grabbed first-team honors, while Tabitha Irish and Jaeda Whitmire secured spots on the second team. Dani Luna and Riley Chaffee rounded out the postseason recognition with honorable mention distinctions.
Hayes finished the year second in the conference with 357 kills, averaging 4.41 kills per set. She also had 21 total blocks, including 19 block assists, and 182 digs for the Tigers.
Bishop helped fuel the Tiger offense on the year, dishing out 502 assists to average 5.12 assists per set. She also had 36 aces and 165 digs on the year.
Irish finished the year with 276 digs in 27 matches, which was the fourth most in the conference. She also dished out 42 assists and had 21 aces for RCC.
Whitmire ranked second in the OEC with 0.99 blocks per set after posting 93 total blocks, including 13 solo stuffs. Offensively, she also had 226 kills (10th in the OEC) and averaged 3.0 points per set.
Luna was right behind Whitmire with 0.98 blocks per set, posting 77 block assists and 13 solo blocks to tally 90 on the year. She also had 31 aces and 92 kills on the year.
Chaffee also helped move the offense for the Tigers and finished the year with 282 assists, averaging 3.07 assists per set. She also had 243 digs, averaging 2.64 digs per set, and 22 aces.