On Saturday, Mt. SAC volleyball improved their overall record to 7-7 as they grinded their way to a 3-1 set victory at home (25-22, 23-25, 25-16 and 25-23) over the Orange Coast Pirates.
The Mounties and the Pirates played three tight sets where the biggest lead for either team was four points. It was the Mounties dominating the third set that ultimately helped them edge out the victory.
Head Coach Samantha Neely highlighted her team’s fortitude and resiliency when adversity hits. “We have been working on our mental toughness and consistency and today we brought more consistency to the court than we have in a while so this was a good win for us,” Neely said.
The Mounties came from behind, a 22-19 deficit in the first set by scoring six unanswered points. During the run, sophomore middle blocker Leia Campbell (13) led the attack with two kills to give Mt. SAC the early 1-0 set lead.
During the second set, the Mounties flashed their comeback ability. The Pirates were a match point away from capturing the second set when the Mounties scored three unanswered points led by freshman outside hitter Andrea Brewer’s (10) two kills. Orange Coast closed out the set on a kill by freshman outside hitter Lulu Utterback (15) to tie the match.
After losing the second set, the Mounties managed to persevere consecutive nail-biting sets and win two in a row to win the match.
During the third set, Mt. SAC built a sizable nine-point lead and maintained the margin to close out the set, 25-16. Freshman outside hitter Candace Ceballos (11) led the Mounties with five kills during the set.
During the fourth set, the Mounties had a .100 hitting percentage with eight errors, its worst set of the night. Fortunately for Mt. SAC, the Pirates had an even worse set with .062 hitting percentage and six errors. The Pirates took advantage of errors by the Mounties and attempted to mount a comeback by scoring three unanswered points on errors to cut it to a one-point, 24-23 lead.
Mt. SAC closed out their homestand and answered the Orange Coast rally by scoring the winning point on an error from the Pirates backrow defense.
After the game, outside hitter Leia Campbell lamented the team’s slow start but believes this win is a stepping stone in the right direction. “We’ve been struggling a lot lately, I feel like after the loss last night we felt really defeated, but today we came in and we said we want to be great and I feel like we just really, really work together as a family,” said Campbell.
The Mounties victory was led by stellar performances from Cambell, Ceballos, and Brewer, who averaged a combined .321 hitting percentage during the match. The three players finished with double-digit kills, Brewer leading the way with 21 kills, Campbell finished the match with 11 kills and Ceballos with 16 of her own.
“I think we’re all playing with a common agreement that we just all want to be better and we want to play as a team. Because we know we are good and we know we can win but we just really have to put everything together and apply it on the court. And listen to Coach (Neely),” said Campbell.
The next chance to watch your Mt. SAC volleyball team is at home on Sept. 29 at Mt. SAC as they take on the Los Angeles City Cubs.
