Leadership leads volleyball in conference opener

Nora To’omalatai and the Lancers’ volleyball team entered conference play Friday with much to be proud of. Although their record (3-7) may be a bit deceiving, the young team has gone the distance with some of the top teams in the state.

Tied at No. 25 in the latest state poll, the Lancers entered South Coast Conference play against Los Angeles Harbor College (1-4), pulling off an impressive victory by sweeping the Seahawks, 25-8, 25-16, 25-19, Friday night.

The Lancers got off to a quick 7-0 start in the first game and never looked back, attributing their successful play to their pre-game warm ups.

“We did a lot of stuff that we needed to work on and our warm up was on point,” said freshman blocker Angela Banuelos. “It was one of our best warm-ups and I think that really made a difference, we started with a lot of energy and it showed and helped us tremendously.”

“We played really confident volleyball, we played together,” said libero Saige Spence. “ We had a lot of communication throughout the game. We play our best volleyball when we communicate and that’s what we did against LA Harbor.”

The Lancers were led by the powerful swing of sophomore outside hitter Nora To’omalatai. To’omalatai paced the Lancers with 17 kills and added two service aces. Freshmen middle blocker Kendra Logan added six kills and three blocks while middle blocker Angela Banuelos contributed seven kills and two aces.

The progress of the freshmen continues to be a boost for the Lancers squad, which now looks toward another conference championship.

“I’m excited about conference play. We’re going to be running new plays and quicker offensive sets and we’re confident in our capabilities,” Spence said. “If we continue to work on our offense we’ll be just fine.

“Our goal is to keep our intensity throughout the game, stay together and play together,” said outside hitter Thula Parks. “If we continue to work hard and play to our abilities we can take conference.”

The vocal leadership of Parks and sophomore setter Tiffany Roesler has continued to play a major role in the success of this year’s team.

“I know we’re a young team so whatever role I need to play in order for my team to win, that’s what I’ll do,” added Parks. “Tiffany continues to improve every game and she brings that emotional support and intensity every game and we feed off that.”