After losing to Moorpark, the women’s volleyball team got back on track as they defeated Allan Hancock College.
With this win they increased their record, 18-3. Setter Hayley Alvarez was excited about their win.
“It’s awesome, it’s always good to add another number to that column,” Alvarez said. “We just play our Brahmas game, our Brahmas ball, throughout each game we play, so we just have to be prepared for any opponent.”
With eight more games in the season before regionals, the Brahmas are excited for any opportunity to get on the court. Middle Blocker Shannon Volpis said she is grateful for where the team is today.
“Every game is more exciting because you feel you’re getting closer to state, but we don’t take any game for granted. Every game we win, we’re thankful, we work hard for it.” Volpis said.
So far the team has lost only three games, and although they beat Hancock 3-0 they feel they put up a fair fight, according to Outside Hitter Tamia Flies.
“They pushed back, they didn’t let us take it from them,” Flies said.
Volpis said Hancock pulled out all the stops in this game trying to get a win for themselves.
“I feel like they were scrappy, and honestly scrappy teams are very hard to play against. They get ballsy and do things you never would expect, that’s what they brought to the table, it’s what makes them difficult,” Volpis said.
Pierce doesn’t allow their victories to dwindle their hard work, according to coach Nabil Mardini.
“There’s always room for improvement every single day you step on the court you want to get better,” Mardini said.
The Brahmas treat every game as an opportunity to challenge themselves and learn from their opponents.
“It feels amazing [to win] we’ve been doing so great this whole season. Today obviously wasn’t one of our more challenging matches, but I think even that is challenging, in a way, for us,” Libero player Julia Izquierdo said. “Because we need to make sure we don’t play down to their level, we play our game. So it’s always a challenge for us.”
A large contribution to the team’s success is their coach Nabil Mardini, two-time National College Coach of the Year Award winner.
“Nabil, he’s a hard worker. He puts in a ton of work, it’s not just all us,” Volpis said. “He’s here early in the morning to late at night just trying to make us seem better and I just really appreciate it, we all really appreciate it.”
The team is more than prepared for their upcoming games.
“You’ll see us in the playoffs and at the championships.” Alvarez said.
