The Contra Costa College Comets came to Los Medanos College and took down the Mustangs, 3 sets to 0, in what was supposed to be an evenly matched fight.
“The outcome was upsetting, because we definitely have the capability to beat this team,” said LMC setter Marissa Hunter. Hunter helped out the team by leading in assists (9), digs (8), and saves (3) in Wednesday evening’s game, but it still wasn’t enough despite her strongest efforts.
The first set began with multiple extended rallies, and no team in clear favor. The Comets finally created a decent lead at 15-10, forcing LMC Head Coach Lou Panzella to call timeout. The Mustangs returned to the game with determination, and rallied off six consecutive points surpassing CCC 15-16 late in the first set. But LMC did not keep this burst of energy going when 5’11” middle blocker Jessica Neville started dominating at the net for the Comets, compiling five kills and three blocks overall. CCC won the set 25-18.
The first half of the second set had balanced scoring between the teams, until CCC got off on a huge rally. During this hot run by the Comets, Panzella yelled to his team, “Go hit the ball don’t just stand there and watch! Make a play!”
The Comets blew out the second set 25-12.
“We had way too many unenforced errors. That is a team that we should have been way more competitive with,” said Panzella. “We need to keep trying to eliminate our errors and making positive plays.”
The third set was the most equally battled of the entire game, with no team taking a significant lead. But when LMC started trailing 16-13 it looked as though poor team communication caught up to them again, until they were able to rally. Middle hitter Aleigha William made a huge stuff scoring the game at 16-15 with the crowd pumped up behind them.
CCC’s outside hitter Jazmine Mendoza then took control and silenced the crowd, closing the final set 25-19.
“We played pretty well, we just need to clean somethings up,” said CCC Head Coach Zach Shrive. “This is the best team we’ve had in a while, we hope to play well and continue to improve.”
The team is now 2-5 on the season.
