Huskies Open Season with Tough Three-Set Victory

by Cerwin D Haynes

(photos by Sophia Priebe, IG @sophiapriebephoto)

With a healthy group of sophomore returning from last year's young squad, ELAC Women's Volleyball head coach Dr. Elliott Walker expects more leadership to guide the team past tough opponents and situations. The Eagles of Mt. San Jacinto College presented themselves as such a early-season test. A tightly contested game saw the Huskies (1-0, 0-0) get the points when they needed as they staved off the Eagles (0-1, 0-0) in three straight sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-22). Sophomore OH Roselia Cazares tallied 12 kills to go along with 10 digs and three assisted blocks for a game-high 14.5 points. Fellow soph and MB Kiara Davis had seven kills and three block assists en route to 10.5 points, second-highest in the game.

With each team bringing their opening season energy to the court, the first set was nip-tuck before the Huskies surged late in each. In the first set, the score was tied at 18 before ELAC scored three straight: a kill by sophomore MB Leah Avila, a service ace by sophomore S Stephanie Iglesias, and another kill by Avila. With a 23-20 lead, the Huskies closed the set with another kill by Avila and another ace by Iglesias.

The second set saw the home Green take and maintain more control throughout. ELAC held leads of 17-11, 19-13 and 23-16. The Eagles tried to climb back with four straight points, but a kill by Aixa Aviles followed by an attack error by Eagles' Mckenna Conklin gave the frame to the Pack.

In the third, Mt. San Jacinto consistently responded with urgency to extend the game, going nip-and-tuck with ELAC. An attack error by Cazares (via a block from Lauren Cummings) saw the Eagles take a 9-10 lead. But the Huskies kept their resolve, scoring five straight points to retake the lead 14-11 and force the visitors to take a timeout. The Eagles clawed back, tying the set at 20-20, 21-21 and 22-22. But the Pack took control for the final three points: A kill by Cazares, an attack error by Carley Kruse (via a block from Davis and Alejandra Larios), and a game-sealing kill by Larios.

HUSKY BITS

• Avila tied Davis for second on the team with seven kills. She also added four assisted blocks for a total of nine points on the day.
• Iglesias had a team-high 22 assists and added seven digs.
• Sophomore OH Alejandra Alfaro had 10 digs on the day.

UP NEXT:

East LA will spend next week on the road. They'll travel to Glendale on Thursday Aug 31 to take on the Vaqueros of Glendale CC, and then participate in the LA Mission College Kickoff Classic on Friday and Saturday to start the month of September. They'll return home on Wednesday, Sept 6 to host a tri-match (formerly scheduled as a Quad).