The Pierce College men’s volleyball team beat Santa Monica College in front of a crowd of Santa Monica fans.
Santa Monica was undefeated in conference but the Brahmas only lost one set to them at home on Friday, April 13.
Pierce won the first set 25-18. Santa Monica won the second set by the exact same score of 25-18. That would be the only set the Corsairs would win, as Pierce would win the last two sets 25-23.
The game went back and forth at times, but the Brahmas managed to beat the top team in the Western State division. Santa Monica’s record is 15-2 overall and 10-1 in conference play. Pierce improved its record to 7-9 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
“It was a great match. Really fun,” said Pierce assistant coach Bronson Oliveira. “The energy was great. The [team] played some of their best ball yet.”
Santa Monica had a large crowd in attendance, which drowned out the home fans at times. Pierce head coach Lance Walker said they should have charged entrance fees at the door with so many Santa Monica fans in attendance.
“All of SMC came in here to watch us lose,” Walker said. “We were not the home crowd favorites. I think about 75 percent of the gym were SMC fans. The fact of the matter is their fans came here to watch them lose and there’s nothing better than that. Especially when you’re protecting your home court.”
The game became a struggle for the lead in the second set. Pierce started out strong, highlighted by its strong play around the net. During this set, Santa Monica displayed why they are the top team in the conference and came from behind to overtake Pierce’s lead and win the set.
In the third and fourth sets, Santa Monica did its best to keep Pierce down but it seemed every time they tried, the Brahmas would find a way to storm back.
“[This win] means a lot because they were undefeated and we gave them their first loss in conference,” said Pierce freshman opposite Joshua Vallin. “I think we just played with more heart. [Santa Monica] thought they were going to roll over us, so they just started real weak in the beginning and then we fought throughout the match and came out on top.”
Santa Monica’s team featured Frankie Manes, who played with the Brahmas last season before playing for the Corsairs. Vallin admitted the Brahmas used Santa Monica’s loud crowd as fuel and said he was glad to defeat his former teammate’s current team.
“Any type of energy we can get, will pump us up,” Vallin said. “I was more happy to send my friend Frankie [Manes] home with a loss.”
The Brahmas final home game will be against Long Beach City College on April 8 at 6 p.m.
