Pierce men’s volleyball snapped their five-game losing streak with a bounceback against Antelope Valley on Wednesday, March 12.
Head coach Joseph Arechiga expressed how this victory boosted the team’s confidence after having a few backlogs this year.
“I think it’s good to get back in the win column. It’s been an up-and-down year,” Arechiga said. “Every time you win, it’s always a great feeling to see our hard work pay off.””
The Brahmas found their rhythm back after struggling for a while, according to outside hitter Luis Penate.
“We have been struggling to find our rhythm the past few games. I think in this game, we found that rhythm that we need,” Penate said. “It was good. I think it was a statement game.”
Coach Arechiga discussed how switching up the lineups was a game-changer strategy for their victory.
“We completely switched up our lineups and switched number 11 [Brandon Ta], who is one of the leading attackers in the state,” Arechiga said. “We switched him to the setter. He did a great job of hustling and was able to facilitate the offense and get everyone else working around him. “
According to setter Karl Manolong, the defense was one of the key factors in helping the team secure the match.
“We played good volleyball, kept our heads up, and were focused,” Manolong said. “I think one big turning point was our defense today. It’s been a lot better since the past few weeks.”
The Brahmas shared their learning experience from this game that they can apply for their upcoming match against Moorpark.
“The next game is going to be really hard against Moorpark and with the energy that we have here, we just need to implement it into the next game and uplift ourselves,” Penate said.
Libero David Montalvo scored five digs and said his greatest lesson from the game was trust his teammates.
Setter Brandon Ta believes that consistency and hard work are the key elements he took away from this game.
“The lessons that I learned from this game are that consistency and hard work can lead to a lot of good things,” Ta said.
Pierce will host Santa Barbara City College on Wednesday, March 19, at 6:00 p.m. at the South Gym Building.
