The City College Vaqueros defeated the top ranked L.A. Pierce Brahmans 3-1 Wednesday night at the Santa Barbara Sports Pavilion after winning three consecutive sets to seal their victory.
City College won the match with set scores of 18-25, 25-21, 26-24, and 25-16.
Offensive hitter Katelynn Womack led the team with 11 kills and 13 digs, followed by defensive specialist Raleigh McKinney with 18 digs and setter Shiloe Parsons who had 22 assists.
Both Hannah Cantrell and Isabella Thompson got their hitting averages up to .500 as well.
“We have had some better practices since our first loss and we worked really hard,” Womack said. “And we pulled through.”
The Vaqueros experienced their first loss of the season to the Brahmans back in August but they came back this game with a vengeance showing that they still had some fight in them.
The Brahmans came out strong in the first set as the City College offense stalled. The set went by quick.
By the end of the first set adrenaline was racing and fans on both sides were cheering. Womack started the second set with a kill and the momentum carried.
But the Brahmans caught up quickly after falling behind a few points. The match then turned into a back and forth affair of someone trying to take the lead. The Vaqueros eventually took the second set 25-21.
The third set started out similar to the second, but was even closer. City College had a six point lead but Pierce soon led 23-21. Both teams rallied back and forth but eventually the Vaqueros were able to come out on top 26-24 with a kill off a block by outside hitter Shannon Friend.
The Vaqueros finally took off in the fourth set. Within minutes they had an 11-4 lead and were still going strong.
“We could have gotten used to the pace earlier,” said head coach Ed Gover. “But we got into it as time went on and the whole team came together.”
The Brahmans tried to catch up but couldn’t quite make it. With the Vaqueros leading 21-12 the game was nearly finished.
The set finished with the Vaqueros winning 25-16 as the crowd roared its approval from the stands. The Vaqueros are ranked fourth in the state and this win puts them at 14-2 for the season.
“We stuck with the game plan we had,” Gover said. “And it got us a win.”
City College plays its next game 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, in the Santa Barbara Sports Pavilion.
“Next game should be a lot easier,” Womack said. “Hancock is not known to be that good of a team.”
