The Pierce College Women’s volleyball team defeated Bakersfield College 25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22 in the championship game of the Brahmas’ 3rd Invitational Volleyball Tournament, extending their 47 match game win streak.
Pierce is currently ranked first in the state, and viewed this tournament as their greatest achievement of the season, by celebrating Danielle Hochman’s 20th birthday after winning (3-1) against Bakersfield.
The Brahmas defeated Saddleback College (25-11, 25-5, 25-17) on Friday, beating them in straight games and advancing them into the second round of the tournament.
Sophomore outside hitter Danetta Boykin continued to assist her team on offense with 18 kills, leading the stats in scores.
“This tournament was far more competitive than the others, and made me a little frustrated,” Boykin said. “But we continued to play our game.”
Golden West College played their best game earlier on Saturday, keeping the scores close, but got swept by the Brahmas (25-16, 25-22, 25-22), advancing them to the championship round of the tournament played later that day.
Head coach Nabil Mardini was very pleased to see the way his girls had played, using teamwork to defeat their opponents.
“Our girls did their jobs, passing and setting each other up for scores, and played their roles well,” Mardini said.
Janelle Futch helped her team well, adding up 47 assists to set up her teammates on offense.
Bakersfield came into the championship game determined for revenge and adjusted their game plan from last week’s game, but could not stop the well played offense of the Brahmas, who secured their second tournament win of the season.
Sakuro Fuji played her best game, both scoring and setting up assists for her hitters. Kira Guarino also played her game adding up 13 kills.
“We play to win, though we were tired and fatigued,” Fuji said. “Our coach put our heads back in the game.”
Bakersfield met Pierce last week in the 27th San Diego Mesa College Volleyball Tournament, but came up short against the Brahmas, losing in straight sets in the championship game.
It has been a long while since the Brahmas lost a game after sweeping their opponents in (3-0) previous matches.
“Their defense was good, and [they] made me nervous after winning in the third set,” Fuji said. “But [we were] focused on winning in the next set.”
Mardini was pleased to see the success of this team, but felt his girls still have things to improve on.
“Our team did an excellent job, though we could have assisted and positioned the ball a bit better,” Mardini said.
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