Brahmas women’s volleyball improved to 8-3 on the season with a pair of straight set victories on Friday, led by Shari Volpis’ 30 kills in the two games. They started the day with Mission College (25-21, 25-20, 25-19) and finished with Mt. San Antonio College (25-16, 25-21, 25-23).
Pierce dominated the first set against Mt. SAC. They were aggressive defensively and forced Mt. SAC to commit errors throughout the set.
“Serve tough and win the passing battle. We served really well and passed the ball better than we have,” Mardini said.
According to assistant coach Veronika Ban, studying their opponents was one of their strategies.
“We knew that they were good defensively against our outside hitters. We knew they ran a rotational defense,” Ban said. “Our defense did a really good job of letting our hitters know where to hit, what was open, and our hitters went after it and hit spots we knew were open.”
The second and third sets gave the Brahmas more of a challenge, with Mt. SAC taking a lead during the third set.
Ban knew coming into this game that Mt. SAC was not going to be an easy opponent.
“After the first set, we knew they were going to come out and give us a run for our money,” Ban said. “We made sure everyone stayed focused, kept our composure, and made sure we’re working on our side first.”
Mardini said focusing on the basics helped overcome Mt. SAC’s comeback.
“You have to stick to the same thing. Sometimes you lose momentum because the other team is doing a better job. It’s going to happen. You just have to respect the process and stick to the game plan,” Mardini said.
Volpis was not concerned about their opponents scoring back to back.
“Volleyball is a big momentum sport, and it’s very likely for the other team to start gaining some momentum, so it doesn’t worry me too much,” Volpis said.
Mardini had praise for Mt. SAC’s team and the challenge they presented.
“It’s a very athletic team, and if they are balanced, we know that they can put a lot of pressure on us. So, our plan was to keep the center off balance, and we did that,” Mardini said.
The team also got the win against Mission College in straight sets in the first game of the doubleheader. The record this season is 8-3. Their next game is on Sept. 22 against West LA at 4:30 p.m.
