Ranked first in Northern California and third in the entire state, the SRJC volleyball team showed no weaknesses against the Cosumnes River College Hawks on Nov. 4. The Lady Bear Cubs beat the Hawks with ease in three straight games.
“It was a good overall match,” head coach Kelly Wood said. “Players who would regularly not be able to play got an opportunity and everyone contributed.”
Throughout the match, the team’s dominating skills and communication were on display. The first game started with seven straight points from the combination of sophomores Sam Siebert, Taylor Nelson and freshmen Kristyn Casalino. The most competitive game of the match was the first with Cosumnes River scoring four consecutive points, but Nelson was able to spike a powerful kill for the winning point in the first match, 25-9.
Siebert began the second game on serve scoring 10 straight points with the 10th point questionably touching a Hawk’s player on the way out of bounds. Cosumnes River’s head coach, Minet Gunther, did not agree with the referees’ call and showed her discontent. She jumped off the bench to shout at the net ref across the court who made the call and who did not have the best vantage point.
“It was a bad call, but I didn’t know why she had to make a big deal about it. It was only the second game, but the match was pretty much over,” Wood said.
During the second game, the Lady Bear Cubs sustained long rallies and executed perfectly timed defensive blocks. SRJC won the second game 25-7.
Most of the sophomores and starters rested during the third and final game with Nelson and fellow sophomore Karimah Hay not playing at all. Even with many experienced players on the bench, SRJC still dominated the rest of the match, winning the third game 25-12.
“We accomplished our goal of consistency,” Siebert said. “That’s what we were talking about leading up to this game. Just stay consistent and take it one game at a time.”
Siebert leads the team and is first in the state with a staggering 813 assists, averaging 11.1 assists. She has also compiled 47 aces. Nelson, along with freshmen Olivia Urban, are battling for the team lead in kills with Nelson earning 236 and Urban 233. Urban was a standout at San Marin High School and is expected to be a cornerstone for the Lady Bear Cubs in the future.
Freshmen Brianna Adviento from Analy High School has been a pleasant surprise at libero leading the team in digs with 244 and aces with 68. Adviento’s high school teammate, Margaret Barnes, leads the team with 53  blocks.
SRJC has three competitive conference matches left on the schedule before the first round of the playoffs Nov. 22, but the team is just trying to concentrate on the regular season.
“We have three tough matches left against conference teams,” Wood said. “Sierra, American River and Sac City are all capable of winning. We just have to stay focused.”