The women’s volleyball team came close to winning the state title but fell short after losing the championship game to the Fresno Rams in three straight sets.
Coaches and players reflected on what the season allowed them to accomplish and what to look forward to in 2017.
Middle Blocker Cairo Harrell said that the season went well and the team warranted making it to finals.
“The whole season has been really good. Of course we would have our casual struggles with practice and what not, but I feel that all-in-all we always figure out a way as a team to pull through. I feel we made it this far because of how we practice and just how we are as a team. We completely deserve being here because we are the hardest working team in this competition. This is what we earned,” Harrell said.
The Brahmas played more than a few of the teams that made it to the championship during regular season. Harrell said that they would have to focus and pay attention to make it to the next round.
“We always say that practice is harder than the games anyway, so this season has kind of been a breeze, [but] I feel the games ahead of us are going to be tough because they made it there for a reason. So there is going to be something that they can do to try and get through all of our weaknesses, but because of how we are and what we’ve become as a team, we can annihilate them,” Harrell said.
The season was not without difficulties and occasional falters, coach Nabil Mardini said. The biggest hurdle was the loss of three players, Shai Volpis, Shanon Volpis and Kristen White, earlier in the season due to injuries.
“We always have struggles. No season is without struggles, but it’s how you overcome those struggles,” Mardini said. “I think every match is gonna be a battle.”
The Brahmas worked around the loss of players and used other girls in multiple positions to make up for the numbers they were lacking.
“Luckily, we had the girls that could step up and do what had to be done. Some of our middles, who normally come off the bench, became starters. They worked really hard and stepped up,” Setter Michal Francisco said.
Pierce took home the championship title three years in a row from 2010-2012. After that, they did not reach the finals for three years. They lost in an upset to Cabrillo College in 2015 and to Fresno State this year. The Cabrillo Seahawks competed in the quarterfinals as well, but were eliminated by El Camino.
