Liat Nosrati
The men’s volleyball team at Pierce College lost their starting setter and now they are working hard to step up their game.
Sia Irilian, 17, who had been playing volleyball for nine years and was the starting setter for the Brahmas, quit after their March 12 game against Moorpark College.
Despite living in Valencia, Irilian decided to go to Pierce because College of the Canyons does not have a volleyball team. However, he later determined that concentrating on doing well in class was more important.
“I left because I wanted to focus more on academics and be successful in that as well as everything else,” Irilian clarified. “Basically, to make a good foundation – not only for school or work, but for my life.”
Eddie Stanislawski, the team’s head coach, explained what it was like to lose such a key player.
“That’s like losing your quarterback, so it was a big loss,” Stanislawski said. “(Irilian) was a big part of the team and a big part of our success. He was a skilled, high-level player.”
Irilian plans on attending COC in the fall.
Now that Irilian is gone, the team must move on. Steven Umemoto, one of the team captains, has taken Irilian’s place as the starting setter.
“To me, (volleyball) is very important, so I still get good grades and play volleyball,” Umemoto said.
Middle-blocker Michael Sofley, who is Irilian’s friend, agreed that Irilian was a big part of the team, but that he had other obligations.
With the team getting back on track and dealing with the loss, Stanislawski is confident that things are looking up.
“We’ve been working hard and we’ve been working on our lineups and everything,” Stanislawski stated.
The volleyball team has lost their last six games, but now that Umemoto is getting used to his new position after playing four games as starting setter, the team feels more sure of themselves.
“(Umemoto) is a great guy,” Stanislawski explained. “He’s working hard to kind of pull everyone back in line.”
With one win and eight losses, only time will tell if all that practice has paid off.
The Brahmas’ final Western State Conference, Southern Division game takes place tonight at Santa Monica College. The game starts at 6 p.m.