The Pierce Men’s Volleyball team’s struggles continue as the conference closes in, losing five games in a row and dropping to 4-13.
Santa Monica College increased the Brahmas losing streak as they walked into the South Gym Building beating Pierce 3-1.
Although the team was defeated, Head Coach Joseph Archigua believes the games speak of the team’s resilience.
“We still competed very well up until the very end of the fourth set. I think it’s very impressive. Shows how hard these young men work and how much they want it. Obviously, it’s frustrating to come out with a loss, but the fact that they battled and made it a good game and competed with almost no subs, I think was very telling of who we are as a team,” said Archigiua.
The first set was a competitive exchange between both teams.
Pierce started the opening set strong with an early 5-3 lead. The Brahmas stayed resilient staying ahead until SMC took their first lead of the game at 11-10. The game kept its intense back-and-forth with Pierce forced to take a timeout when SMC tied it up. Unable to recover from the timeout the Brahmas lost the set 21-25.
A clear shift occurred for Pierce heading into the second set.
Both teams were equally matched. They both started strong, tied up 4-4. The Brahmas would rack up momentum, taking control of the game, even leading by as much as 6 points in the set. SMC fought back, mounting a comeback and cutting the deficit to one point, but the crowd stood up and roared when the Middle Hitter Lars Hart went for two back-to-aces, halting their momentum. Pierce would stay in control, winning the second set.
High energy was a contributing factor to the team winning the second set and tying up the match 1-1.
“I think we were just playing better as a team. I think the energy was definitely high, and that influenced our game the most, and we were able to connect with each other,” said Outside Hitter Luis Penate.
Adding on is Archigua who said that the team just had to trust in themselves despite no adjustment in the lineup.
“The biggest thing was just letting them know we got to trust who we are because there was no other coaching adjustments made, there was no substitutions or tactical adjustments made to the lineup at all,” said Archigua.
Both the third and fourth set went similarly for Pierce. The brahmas kept it competitive in both opening sets with a tied score but SMC intensified their performance taking control, overwhelming Pierce beating them 25-18 in the third and 25-16 in the fourth set winning the eniter match 3-1.
Archigua believes they shifted away as the sets went on.
“I think in the fourth set, we got away from that, and that’s where we see the big shift in the points and scores, because we went away. So first set we were away from it. Second set, we trusted in it. Third set, we went away from it. At the very end. Fourth set, we kind of went away,” said Archigua.
Setter Brandon Ta said he hopes the work they put in will result into a win.
“Not really looking at the end result, just trying to make the work the goal and then hopefully that will translate into a win.
The Brahmas will host Moorpark for their final home game on Wedenseday April 9 at 6:00 p.m. in the South Gym Building.
