Women’s volleyball keeps win streak alive

The women’s volleyball team was dominant in its fifth consecutive win, beating Santa Barbara City College on the road with a 3-1 score on Wednesday, Oct. 9.

Pierce defeated Santa Barbara in four sets, maintaining control of the game after losing the first set with a score of 18-25 then went on to sweep the last three sets with scores of: 26-24, 25-22, 25-23.

Head coach Nabil Mardini was confident that his team would prevail even with little prior knowledge of how Santa Barbara’s team has played so far this season.

“We don’t know a lot about them, but of course we expect to win,” Mardini said.

The game was highlighted by outstanding performances by sophomores Natalie Livermore, Kira Guarino and freshman Alyssa Chulak, who combined for 36 kills, while freshmen Savanah Loutzenhiser, Brooke Rudebusch, and Chulak had two aces each, according to Mardini.

“The girls did an excellent job tonight,” said Mardini. “We served and passed the ball really well.”

Guarino feels this game was one of the best the girls have played together and that they will only continue to get better as the season progresses.

“We’ve found our groove,” said Guarino. “We want to prove that we’re the team that everyone thinks we are.”

The team had a record of 4-9 at the end of September, but has been able to figure things out, dominating its way up to a record of 9-9 and 2-0 in conference play.

Pierce has been consistently showing up for practice and making the necessary improvements and changes to develop the teams overall performance, according to Mardini.