Danielle Healis caught the volleyball on a bounce from the line judge. The crowd at Tauzer Gym was still cheering after the SRJC won the last point to take an 11-10 lead in the fifth set. Healis kept her composure and was able to serve the last five points to hold off Delta College from completing a comeback from two sets down.
Head coach Kelly Wood was pleased with the victory and the high intensity her team played with. “Anytime you get to a fifth set there is a lot of intensity, but I was happy with the energy we came out with,” Wood said.
The Lady Bear Cubs beat the Mustangs 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 15-25, 15-10 on Oct. 13. The Lady Bear Cubs were able to avenge their loss in straight sets to the Mustang in the San Jose Invitational, which took place in Sept. 24. “We were fired up to against them [Delta], and they [SRJC] played really well.
The Lady Bear Cubs improved their record to 14-3, and their victory gives them three straight Big 8 Conference wins. According to the latest California Community College Women’s Volleyball Coaches Association Rankings, the Mustangs are ranked ninth in the state.
Neither team played well in the first set. Both teams seemed to have communication problems early on. In some instances, two players were went after the ball and collided or narrowly missed each other. However, the Lady Bear Cubs seemed to get on track in the second set. They were in control all set and looked to make quick work of the Mustangs in the third. However, the Mustangs were not going to roll over.
The third set the Mustangs played like they had their backs up against the wall and. The Mustangs were able to get pull away winning eight of nine points to pull to an 18-11 lead. The Lady Bear Cubs were able to make it close getting it to 22-23. The Mustangs ended any hope the Lady Bear Cubs had of winning in three sets with two kills that seemed to bring the Mustangs to life and push the match to a fourth set.
The Bear Cubs appeared to take the fourth set off. It was clear early on that the match was going to a decisive fifth set. “Delta came out with some momentum after the third. They were all energetic and enthused and fired up. We passed really well the entire match and all the sudden in the fourth it broke down our serve receive broke down quite a bit. We started struggling in that area. That’s key for us we have to be passing well, ” Wood said. Kelani Kitagawa was able to sever the Mustangs to eight straight points to win the set 25-15.
Taylor Nelson played a well rounded match. She led the Lady Bear Cubs with 25 kills. Nelson also had 12 digs to go along with her two aces and four blocks. Laura young also had a good night with 16 kills and 10 digs.
The Bear Cubs lost their first two conference matches to Sac City and American River in straight sets. Wood is competitive and does not take losing lightly. “I don’t like losing ever, but I think since we did have a shaky start 0-2, it gave us a bit of a wake up call. So it’s better to have it early than late. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and that’s what I told our team. I am pleased about that,” Wood said.
The Lady Bear Cubs however, get a chance to even the score on Oct 27. and Oct. 29, when they will play Sac City and American River again. This time the matches will be at Tauzer Gym where the Lady Bear Cubs have yet to lose a match this year.