By Ryan Johnston
The Lady Rangers managed to steal another quick victory against the Lady Pirates of Victoria College Nov. 8 at home with a score of 3-0.
On Dec. 1, they will participate in the League Championship Tournament at Palo Alto College with the four top-ranked volleyball teams in the region.
The team is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in this region with nine wins and zero losses.
“We wrapped up the title by winning this game,” volleyball coach Paul Kerkez said. “The next best team was 6-2.”
During the first set, the Lady Rangers struggled to keep ahead but were able to pull together and escape with a win, 30-27.
“Victoria in the first set challenged us,” Kerkez said. “They had the lead on most of the game, so the girls were finally challenged. It took them awhile to get going.”
Yet, the Rangers teamwork picked up during the second and third sets to acquire wins of 30-20 and 30-16.
“We were only really challenged during the first match,” Kerkez said. “After that, they woke up; they got better.”
Andrea Barajas, education freshman, said that this game was one of their best this season.
“We stepped up to the level we know we can play at, and we beat them in three games,” she said.
However, she said the attitude of the players still needs improvement.
“We just got to stay positive throughout the whole game and not get down on ourselves,” she said.
From the first game of the season against Trinity University Sept. 13, she said the team has improved dramatically.
“In our first game, everything was off,” she said. “Looking back, we’ve been through a lot and strengthened a lot of our weaknesses.”
Kerkez said he wants the goal for their last game to be to win in three games and to not let them score more than 25 points in any game.
Their ultimate goal is still to be undefeated for the season.
“We should keep our undefeated season,” education freshman Lucinda Sandoval said. “We have talent, we just need to use it. We need to play our game the whole time.”
Yet, even with their undefeated season, Barajas said she would like more attendance in the stands from students.
“I wish more people would come to the games,” she said. “I think they would come if they knew we were undefeated and that we are a good team.”
Kerkez said throughout the season, the team and individual players have improved.
This match, kinesiology sophomore Valerie Morales and Sandoval had the most digs with 19 each.
A dig is when a player retrieves a ball that was close to hitting the floor.
Education freshman Raquel Aguilar had the most assists with 14, and nursing sophomore Kira Knowles had the most kills with nine.
An assist is awarded when a player passes the ball to a teammate to score, while a kill is an attacked ball that strikes the floor to score.
“Overall, everybody contributed to this game,” Kerkez said. “The defense was awesome. The defense actually won the match. We have had steady improvement throughout the season.”