Folsom Lake College volleyball dropped all four of its Big 8 Conference openers to fall to 0-4 in league play and 3-13 overall.

Freshman Aubrey Ballew posted 14 kills and 15 digs in the first match, a five-set loss to Santa Rosa on Wednesday, Sept. 16, in Falcon Gym. The Falcons trailed two sets to none before winning the third 25-15 and the fourth 25-16 to force a decider, according to the Falcons' athletics department. Santa Rosa held on 15-11 in the fifth.

Ballew hit .400 in the opener and recorded a double-double. She led the Falcons in kills in three of the four conference matches and now paces the team with 119 kills and 139.0 points on the season. Against Sacramento City on Saturday, Sept. 26, she served five aces.

The road stretch between those home dates proved difficult. Cosumnes River swept the Falcons 25-18, 25-18, 25-22 on Friday, Sept. 18. American River won 25-18, 25-18, 25-13 on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Back in Falcon Gym on Sept. 26, Sacramento City took the first two sets 25-18 and 25-21. Folsom Lake answered with a 25-11 third set, its most lopsided set win of the season. Sac City closed it out 25-15 in the fourth.

Madi Hyer was just as steady.

The sophomore libero reached double-figure digs in every conference match, posting 15, 13, 14 and 14 across the four contests. She leads the Falcons with 182 digs this season. Ella Triplett added 13 kills against both Santa Rosa and Sacramento City, and freshman setter Niki Angelich recorded 36 assists in the opener.

First-year head coach Charlie Ekstrom, a former Stanford beach volleyball standout and AVCA All-American, is still chasing her first Big 8 win after taking over the program in May. When the college announced her hiring, Ekstrom said she was "thrilled to be stepping into the head coach role …" and focused on "building a culture of success across the board" in the Falcons' volleyball programs.

The Falcons have 12 Big 8 matches remaining. Folsom Lake travels to Diablo Valley on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 6 p.m., a program the Falcons beat twice in conference play last season. On Friday, Oct. 2, the team faces Hartnell and host West Valley at West Valley College at 5:30 p.m. before returning home Wednesday, Oct. 7, to host Sierra.