Philip George, Spring 2009 Assistant Sports Editor
With their 3-0 demolition of the Citrus College Owls Tuesday night in the South Gym, the Brahmas extended their season winning streak to 17, and their home game-winning streak – dating back to October 2002 – to 57.
Outside hitter Janet Alvarado led the attacking game, recording 10 kills, while libero Ashley Clark kept the ball off the hardwood with seven digs.
Pierce College took the first set by a fairly convincing margin, but according to head coach Nabil Mardini, the set was not as close as the 25-18 score indicated.
“We made 14 errors in the first game and we only average five or six,” he said. “Basically, we gave them 14 out of their 18 points.”
“They really didn’t earn many of their points,” said defensive specialist Jessica Reyes, whose team rebounded to make only four errors the rest of the match.
The Owls earned their points in the second set, but would fall 15 short as the Brahmas rattled off 11 straight points to breeze to the 25-10 win. Reyes and opposite Vanessa Murray put on a serving clinic, each recording three aces during the set.
“I just wanted to take them out of system because that’s my job and I just got lucky and got some aces and helped out my team,” Reyes said.
It was more of the same for Pierce in the final set, recording five more aces en route to a 25-8 victory, sending Citrus home and improving the Brahmas record to 22-1 (4-0 in conference play), good for tops in the Western State Conference as well as tops in the state of California.
“We come to the gym and just try and get one percent better every day,” Mardini said of his team’s staggering numbers this season. “The formula doesn’t change. We just come and compete and try to get better.
“This is not so much of a challenge in my opinion. I want the girls to learn to put pressure on themselves so that when we get pushed, we’re ready for the test.”
Next up for Pierce is a date with College of the Canyons, the WSC South’s other undefeated team in conference play (4-0) Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Santa Clarita.