Former Brahma Jackson Meticchechia led the Santa Monica College Corsairs to victory in straight sets over men’s volleyball, 25-22, 25-23, 25-15.
Meticchechia is the head coach of the Corsairs. He said he played for Pierce just before Lance Walker came in to coach and was glad to be playing here again.
“It’s always nice to walk into your old gym and just compete. It brings back good memories,” Meticchechia said.
Morgan Wadlow, outside hitter, said Meticchechia was able to read their moves easily since he had also played at Pierce.
The Brahmas led the Corsairs during part of the first set, but lost the lead and were beat by three points.
During the second set, the Brahmas struggled and were down by five points by their first timeout. They were unable to catch up to the Corsairs, losing the second set, 25-23.
Bernardo Roese, team captain, was given a yellow card during the second set and did not return to the game.
Wadlow said that the lack of positive energy that the team showed affected the overall outcome of the game, and their response to Roese’s behavior wasn’t the best.
“Individually as players on the team, when something like that happens, you have to take it upon yourself to come out of your shell and play better,” Wadlow said. “But it seems like we took it in a negative way. We got down on ourselves, and as a team, it showed.”
In the third, Brahmas fell behind quickly and were unable to gain control of the set, losing the game to the Corsairs, 3-0.
Wadlow said he knows Meticchechia and has played club volleyball with him, so it was an emotional game.
“If I’m playing against someone I know, I’m always coming with just that much more energy because I want to beat them,” Wadlow said. “Also, you’re my friend, so I want to talk about it after the game-type of thing.”
Blake Omartian, left back, said he thought the team did well and is sure that they will improve, so he’s not worried about this loss.
“They didn’t do anything special. They didn’t catch us by surprise,” Omartian said. “I think we pretty much beat ourselves.”
Meticchechia said his team just caught the Brahmas on an off day, but expects them to become a stronger team.
“They have a lot of athleticism, a lot of good volleyball players, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the postseason,” Meticchechia said.
The Brahmas next game is on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. where they will face Long Beach City College for the second time this season.
