The Pierce College women’s volleyball team defeated Butte College in straight sets in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Pierce College entered the game with an unbeaten record and looked to expand that win streak against Butte College.
“We struggled at times,” said Butte head coach David Davis. “It’s credit to Pierce because they caused us to get out of system a little bit.”
Butte College was relegated to 16 kills during the game, in large part to the defense put up by Pierce College.
“Their block caused us to really change what we were trying to do offensively,” said Davis. “They put up a great block, had great defense behind the block and we struggled in our offense because of that.”
Good communication and team play by Pierce College also helped the Brahmas with its win against Butte.
“We served and passed the ball real well,” said Pierce College head coach Nabil Mardini. “They did a good job hitting at the net, a good job in the back row but I’m very pleased at the serving and passing.”
“It’s the first game where we really came together as a team,” said Sophomore Daniele Mamath, outside hitter for Pierce College. “Last weekend we had a tournament and you can see the difference between last weekend and this weekend.”
The game Mamath refers to was a match against Santa Barbara where Pierce had a tougher time but resulted in a 3-2 win for the Brahmas.
For Pierce women’s volleyball team to continue its success on the court, new and returning players will need to become accustomed with each other as the season progresses.
“We like to play volleyball,” said Mardini. “The girls are enjoying the competition, being together and we’re learning a lot about each other.”
Pierce’s next game is Friday, Sept. 11 in San Diego for the San Diego Mesa Tournament.