Philip George, Spring 2009 Assistant Sports Editor
The sound of palm on leather left a ringing in the ears of the Comets as the Pierce College women’s volleyball team defeated their opponents from Palomar College, 3-1, Sept. 17 in the South Gym.
Outside hitters Janet Alvarado and Sarah Martin led the Brahma attack, each recording 13 kills with Martin recording three aces, while libero Ashley Clark paced the defense with seven digs, raising her Western State Conference lead in that category to 106 on the season.
The Brahmas began the first set trading points with Palomar, but quickly pulled away to cruise to an easy 25-11 victory as Co-captain Kameron Ward silenced the Comets with a kill on the first game point.
Palomar seemed in control for the early part of the second set, matching the Brahmas point for point, but never trailing by more than three, Pierce rallied to take their first lead in the set, 11-10, and did not look back. Setter Terry Soltani served up an ace to end it and give her team a comfortable 2-0 lead in the match.
The Comets, held quiet all night, sought revenge in the third set and roughed up the Brahmas early and often. Palomar burst out of the gate, scoring the first five points and never relinquishing the lead. Pierce attempted to come back, at one point narrowing the deficit to 18-20, but their efforts were thwarted as they suffered defeat, 25-20.
“When we don’t talk it up, that’s when we hesitate and we struggle,” said Alvarado of the problems that plagued Pierce in the third set, “We weren’t talking at all.”
Prior to the fourth set, head coach Nabil Mardini took the team aside and settled them down.
“I told them to relax and play like they play in practice,” said Mardini, “Play hard, play relaxed, be aggressive, go after it, don’t doubt yourself, let your instincts take over.”
The Brahmas responded, regaining their dominant form in the fourth set, at one point rattling off eight straight kills to take a commanding 15-3 lead. Alvarado, who was also taken aside by Mardini after struggling in the third set, slammed the ball to the floor to finish the set,25-14, and turn the lights out on Palomar.
“He just said ‘Are you ready to play?’ I looked at him and said ‘Yes,’ and he put me in,” said Alvarado.
Ward offered her assessment of the Brahmas’ bounce-back effort in the final set.
“The only thing my teammates and I can hope for is that if we’re tested, we come back and we fight that much harder, and by Palomar taking a game off us, they taught us a lesson so we had to come out more fired up,” she said.
The victory extended the Brahmas’ home winning streak to 54 games, dating back to October 11, 2002, and kept them in first place in the Western State Conference.
Natasha Wilroy (16), of Pierce’s womens volleyball drives home a point during the third set of their 3 sets to 1 home victory over Palomar College on Sept. 17, 2008. ()