The Santa Rosa Junior College women’s volleyball team beat Diablo Valley in a high intensity match to move to 4-3 in conference play, picking up another home sweep on Wednesday.
Both teams entered the match looking to bounce back following 0-2 starts to October.
The Bear Cubs dominated the first set, consistently applying pressure on the Vikings and coming out on top of high intensity rallies. A Katie Brenninger spike sealed the 25-11 first set win.
The Bear Cubs kept up the momentum in the second set, scoring first, courtesy of a Kiana Walker spike. The Bear Cubs looked to be on their way to another comfortable set win, but Diablo Valley worked their way back into the set and eventually took a slim lead. The Bear Cubs regained the advantage and edged out the set 26-24.
In the final set, an overhit spike from Diablo Valley saw Santa Rosa get on the score sheet first. Once again, the Bear Cubs got out to an early lead before the Vikings took advantage of some defensive complacency to battle back. Ultimately, the Bear Cubs fed off of the home crowd to win the set 25-23 and complete the match sweep.
In a post-game interview, head coach Ally Sather reflected on the win.
“I felt like we started each set really strong,” Sather said. “I felt like we would get to a big lead, and then a little bit of complacency kicked in, but we were able to close out late in the match and late in the rallies and continue to improve upon what we’ve been getting better at.”
Brenninger spoke about her individual performance after the game.
“I felt like I had a pretty good performance,” Brenninger said. “I feel like we kept consistent energy, me personally as well. DVC was one of those teams that we knew was beatable just like every other team in our conference. So having the mindset of being able to finish this game with a win was what drove me to really work hard this game”
The Bear Cubs will be back in action on Oct. 16 at San Joaquin Delta College.
denise zigantii • Oct 12, 2024 at 10:08 pm
Great coverage of women’s volleyball. Hope you’ll cover all women’s sports as carefully as you covered this game with descriptions of plays and an interview. I am an adult who follows SRJC’s women’s sports and think you did a fine job. Looking forward to more detailed stories.