Volleyball Recap: Smith-Cotton's Undefeated Season over After Four Games

Smith-Cotton was the 3-0 winner over California when they last played one another back in September of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Tigers fell just short of the Pintos by a score of 3-2 on Tuesday. The loss put an end to the Tigers' undefeated start to the season.

Smith-Cotton wouldn't go down easily and took California into a fifth set but they suffered a heartbreaking four-point loss. The final score came out to 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 15-11.

Piper Cantrell

Digs

09/09/25 @ California	32
09/04/25 vs Bolivar	11
09/04/25 vs Hillcrest	16
09/02/25 vs Osage	18
10/26/24 vs Battle	11
+ 10 more games

When it comes to explaining why Smith-Cotton lost, don't look at Piper Cantrell. Despite the final result, she had 32 digs. Cantrell has been hot for a while, having posted 11 or more digs the last 15 times she's played.

Having lost for the first time this season, Smith-Cotton fell to 3-1. As for California, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 4-1.

Looking ahead, Smith-Cotton will take on Clinton at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. As for California, they will square off against Eldon at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.