Husky Volleyball took the 4 hours ride to Imperial Valley with one mission in mind, to WIN! That they did!
Muttered one athlete, "We're not traveling that far to lose! Yup!, Replied another." The Huskies concluded a challenging practice on Thursday evening in preparation for the tournament. Practice was intense and filled with high energy. Remarked another, "We're getting this! We look good!"
Match 1 East Los Angeles College (0) vs. Mt. San Jacinto College (3)
With that said, the ladies met a well known opponent, the Eagles of Mt. San Jacinto. Off to a slow start, the Huskies were down 0-8. Coach Walker called a time out to refocus the athletes and to set up the defense and offense. After restoring calm, the Huskies came to life and began fighting back. Freshman Alexis Salazar (#7) took a big swing and dropped one in on the Eagles. Freshmen Breanna Trujillo (#1) ripped several jump serves causing the Eagles to shank balls, and to hit balls out of the court. The eight point deficit was cut to 5-8. The Eagles scored a side out. They served, and with a great pass freshman, Alexis Salazar, Sophomore Vanessa Gutierrez (#17) dished a back set to freshman Mia Madot (#11) who ran a fast attack known as slide forcing the side out. The fight was on. Digging in deeper, the Huskies kept fighting and responded well to the opposition. The Huskies took a 2 point lead. Battling back and forth, the Huskies fell short in the end losing set 1 17-25.
The loss did not stop the Huskies as they stood up and rose to the challenge. Setting things in motion, the Huskies jumped out to a 11-4 lead. Sophomore Eriazmin Mauries (#9), Mia Madot (#11), Breanna Trujillo (#1) assisted by strong defense from Sophomore Jenifer Martinez (#6), and Vanessa Gutierrez controlled the floor and the game. The Eagles would not die. Lefty and right side hitter, Taylor Kushner (#13) brought the Eagles within four points 11-7. That did not nerve the Huskies as they battled to the end. The Huskies were defeated after a series of errors resulting in a final score of 22-25.
The Huskies still did not fold over. Playing a superb game, both offensively and defensively, the Huskies took an early lead and fought to stay alive looking for that opportunity to take the Eagles into a fourth and fifth set. Sitting on two game points, the Huskies fought hard to put the game away to only fall short in the end losing set 3 27-29.
Coach Walker stated, "We have what it takes, and the experience on the court is finally paying off. It’s games like this that we live for and yearn to watch. Excellent competition and a fight to the finish! The ladies will be fine. This game has proven to them that they have what it takes to make it to post-season competition providing we stay healthy and focused. Despite the loss, I am proud of what they accomplished as a team!"
Match 2 East Los Angeles College (3-0) vs. Imperial Valley College (0)In the second match of the day, the ELAC Huskies knocked off the host school, Imperial Valley 3 sets to 0. The Huskies took 109 swings at the ball and cranking down a team total of 40 kills. In rhythm and playing with confidence, the Huskies established excellent defensive tactics and strategies leading to 60 digs reaching a pre-season high. In addition, the Huskies posted 9 service aces which contributed to the 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-15, and 25-21).Settled and eager to demonstrate their control and poise, the Huskies were lead by Breanna Trujillo posting 9 kills, 10 digs, and 2 ace serves, Mia Madot 10 kills, 10 digs, and 4 service aces, Alexis Salazar 5 kills, 1 dig, and 1 block, Erizamin Mauries 15 kills, 4 digs, and 1 block, Vanessa Gutierrez 41 assist attacks, and by defensive specialist Sydney Villarreal (#14) with 5 digs and Pauline Hernandez who also contributed 2 digs.Match 3 East Los Angeles College (3) vs. Cuyamaca (0)In the full groove of things and controlling the flow of the game, the Huskies demonstrated the game poise and focused on executing near to perfect game skills. The Huskies defeated the Coyotes 25-14, 25-10, and 25-16. The Huskies opened the match with a bang down the line from Alexis Salazar to gain control of the serve. After a faulty serve by Breanna Trujillo, the Huskies were forced to play a side out game. Shanking two passes before getting into the groove, the Huskies soon pulled it together and played the game to win. Taking an 11-3 lead, the Huskies found themselves on top of their game. Shutting down the number 1 hitter and using an excellent transition offense, they soon took total charge of the game. The Huskies posted 44 kills, 42 digs, 13 aces, and 6 blocks to defeat the Coyotes in 3 sets.Freshmen Ashley Winet (#20), Sohia Leon (#2), and Jessica Nunez (#12) made positive game contributions to help the Huskies on to their 3 set victory. Ashley posted 2 blocks and 1 kill while both Jessica and Sophia made contributions on the defensive end.Well, the result of this tournament shows that they didn’t travel that far to lose and that they are on the path to success.The Huskies (2-2) continue the pre-season march Wednesday, September 10, 2014 at Chaffey College with a 4:30 match versus Glendale College (0-2) and a 6:30 match versus the host team, Chaffey College (2-1).
