Huskies Edge Mounties, Beat Mt. SAC For the First Time in Program History

by Cerwin D Haynes

One of the marvels of sports is to have the privilege to watch a team, program, or franchise level up after spending years in the shadows of others.

Sometimes, the transformation period is short - think the Colorado Buffaloes football team revamping themselves after years of mediocrity by hiring Deion Sanders as head coach and importing many players from the transfer portal. And sometimes, it takes years, as it has been the case for East LA College Women's Volleyball and their head coach Dr. Elliott Walker.

But then, the moment arrives that announces - clear as day - that a program has turned the corner. That moment for Dr. Walker's squad came tonight when they played one of most competitive volleyball games ever on campus in beating #12 state-ranked Mt. San Antonio College 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 26-24, 23-25, 15-13). OH Roselia Cazares led all players with 22 kills and 26 total points - she also had four service aces and nine digs. MB Kiara Davis led the Huskies in Kill percentage hitting .429 to go along with 12 points . OH Alejandra Larios had nine kills, two aces and 11 digs.

It is Huskies's first-ever win over Mt. SAC in the sport. East LA (#22) continues their record-setting program-best start by improving to 11-1, while the Mounties fall to 5-5.

Before the game, the coaches mentioned that at 5-4, the Mounties had played one of the toughest schedules in the state before entering SCC play this week. In the first set, the Huskies jumped out to a 6-1 lead, but one could sense that the #12 ranked visitors would make their push. Slowly they did, drawing to within a point, 15-14, on an attack error by Leah Avila. But the Pack would not give up the lead, ultimately winning the set on a kill by Roselia Cazares (from Stephanie Iglesias). 

In the second set with the score tied at 2, Mt. SAC went on a 8-3 spurt to take a five point lead at 5-10. ELAC would battle to ultimate close within two, 15-17, on a kill by Roselia Cazares. Unfortunately, the Huskies kept shooting themselves in the foot (or paw, rather) by hitting their serves into the net. Six service errors ultimately proved to be the difference as the Mounties took Set Two 19-25.

Both teams dug in deep during the third set. Players hustling all over the court to keep volleys alive, digs on either powerful or clever kill attempts, refusing to give up anything easy. It was nip-and-tuck throughout - there were 11 ties during the set as no team enjoyed a lead larger than two points throughout. Mt. SAC did grab a late lead and had set point at 22-24, and staring a 1-2 match deficit in their face, ELAC performed the following:

• Kill by Roselia Cazares (from Kaitlyn Bacenti), 23-24.
• Caught a huge break with a bad set by Mt. SAC's Capri Salmon. 24-all.
• Induced another error with an attack error by SAC's Zyra Green. 25-24.
• Service Ace by Roselia Cazares. Huskies win the set 26-24.

The fourth set was more of them same high-intensity play with the teams keeping each other close until one or the other made their move. The Mounties would take a 7-10 lead, but the Huskies would score five straight points, culminating in an attack error by Candace Ceballos off a block by Kaitlyn Bacenti and Kiara Davis to go up 12-10. Mt. SAC scored the next two point to tie at 12, but then East scored two straight of their own to go back up 14-12. Scratching and clawing to hold onto their narrow lead, the home Green would take a 20-17 advantage off a kill by Leah Avila (from Stephanie Iglesias)... and at that point the crowd - being joined by members of ELAC's football and men's basketball teams, began to sense the women of the net were within reach of that epic W.

But Mt. SAC showed you can't put away a long-time nemesis too soon. Superb digging throughout the set ultimately lead to their next rally opportunity - setting up consecutive kills to draw within a point and force an ELAC timeout. After the break, a service error by Andrea Brewer gave East a 21-19 lead, but the Mounties again scored two straight to tie at 21. A set error by the visitors edged the Pack ever so closer at 22-21, but by this point, Mounties S Capri Salmon was in a zone. She set up consecutive kills by Leia Campbell and Andrea Brewer to give the visitors a 22-23 lead. A bad set by Salmon tied the set... again, but Mt. SAC scored the last two points on an attack error by Davis and a kill by Brewer, 23-25.

The fifth and final set saw the Mounties jump to a 4-1, with the visitors seemingly digging everything the Huskies hit at them, and Salmon again working her setting to set up Mountie kills. But the Pack had one more major run in them: an 7-2 run to take an 8-6 lead in the set with teams switching sides for the final time. Mt. SAC would ultimately force a tie at 11-11 and then 12-12 as the tension surged throughout the crowd in the gym.

Cazares, the sophomore product out of El Rancho, seized the opportunity. She had consecutive kills (both from Stephanie Iglesias) to bring ELAC within a match point decades in the making, 14-12. Iglesias had the serve, but hit it out of bounds for an error. Perhaps nerves and fatigue, it left the door open for the Mounties to tie with the score 14-13.

Fortunately for the Huskies, their opponent looked to suffer the same. Naara Ortega's serve sailed about two feet to the right of the Huskies's right sideline. Game, set, match... history.

HUSKY BITS

• Before tonight's win, the closest ELAC approached beating Mt. SAC was back in 2019. It was a similarly competitive five-set loss 3-2 at home, 29-31, 12-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-10.
• As a program, Coach Walker knew he had to work to cultivate the kind of talent that would one day compete as the team is now, as the immediate recruiting areas surrounding ELAC are not known for being hotbeds of volleyball talent. Through networking and working with youth club teams, he watered the grassroots with the goal of one day producing upper-level talent. It's now obvious that such efforts have begun to reap dividends.

UP NEXT:

As awesome and historic tonight's win was for the Green, they won't have too much time to revel in it. They have another weekend coming up at LA Mission College as they'll play this Friday and Saturday in the 3rd Annual Eagle Invitational.