WEB EXCLUSIVE – Despite sluggish play, PCC volleyball dropped Los Angeles City College in three straight sets (27-25, 26-24, 25-20) on Friday in Los Angeles.Although the Lancers towered over the Cubs, L.A. City never let the height difference hinder their play.
“We thought it was going to be an easy match,” said Head Coach Tammy Silva. “They played scrappy and played excellent defense and hustled.”
Unlike the past few matches, the Lancers started each set slow, trailing for a majority of the time, even looking lost and confused. Ironically, the Lancers were more vocal and communicative than in their previous games, with co-captain Candice Parker and libero Marissa Rangel setting the tone throughout the match.
Unfortunately, costly errors created point opportunities for the Cubs. In game one, three consecutive errors opened a four-point margin, giving the Cubs a 23-19 lead. Strong play from Galia Sotomayor, who finished with a game-high 14 kills and has continually punished opponents with her perfectly timed kills, helped the Lancers prevail.
The Cubs started game two strong, but slowly unraveled. The game was still close as each team made several unforced errors, but the Cubs were visibly frustrated as the Lancers began to pick up their stride.
The Lancers, however, got most of their points off L.A. City turnovers and errors, but still trailed throughout most of the set. With a strong defensive presence in Sotomayor and Vanessa Amran, the Lancers narrowly edged the Cubs with a 26-24 victory.
“We were mentally prepared,” added Silva, remarking on the Lancers’ poise after losing a physically exhausting game against defending champions El Camino College.
By game three, the Lancers finally exploited the Cubs’ height with the Sotomayor twins towering over the net and blocking every hit, tip or kill sent their way. Meanwhile, Vanessa Amran set her teammates perfectly, finishing the game with 34 assists.
The team finally gelled as a unit and dominated the third set with an early 7-1 lead, eventually winning 25-20.
“Our starting middle blocker (Grecia Williams) was out,” said a frustrated L.A. City Head Coach Mynor Mendoza. “If we had her, things would’ve been different.”
Candice Price finished the game with 11 kills and Marissa Rangel tallied 17 digs.
The win improves PCC to an overall record of 7-4 and 2-1 in the South Coast Conference.
(left to right) Jessica Damasco, Candice Price and Vanessa Amran go up for a block against L.A. City College on Friday. (Sothan Thach)
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