The Los Medanos College women’s volleyball team beat Mendocino College in a 3-1 win Friday, Oct. 4. The Mustangs led 2-0 before faltering in the third set and finishing with a win in the fourth set.

The first set went to the Mustangs with a score of 25-19. The Mendocino College Eagles began the set, yet they gave up the first point of the match to Mustangs No. 15, Kristina Salazar. The set continued and both teams traded on and off for the lead. During the middle of the set, the Mustangs were trailing 12-14, but were able to come back and lead for the rest of the set. LMC controlled the rest of the set, conceding only five points and scoring 13 after their comeback.

The second set went to the Mustangs with a 2-0 lead, and a score of 25-17. Set two began when Salazar took the first serve for the Mustangs. The points were shared among both teams, and the Mustangs took control of the set early on. LMC triumphed over the Eagles for the entire set – they did not give the Eagles a chance to “fly” over them to even the score.

The Mustangs looked to win against Mendocino College in straight sets, but the Eagles rallied to win set three by a small margin of 21-25. From the beginning, the Mustangs were not able to control the set, trailing for the majority of it.

“I think we were a little bit too confident. We went into it thinking that we could relax, but definitely wasn’t the case,” said Salazar.

In the middle of the set, LMC attempted to make a comeback while trailing 10-14, scoring three and conceding two bringing the score to 13-16.

The Eagles were able to regain control of the set, and brought the score to 14-20. The Mustangs were able to even the score 20-20 with Emily Sobolik and Amaya Mixon each scoring two points of the six. The comeback came up short, as the Eagles were able to score four straight points, which helped them to finish 21-25. “We beat ourselves,” said Coach Lou Panzella.

Set four was the final set of the match, giving the Mustangs the win. The set was won by the Mustangs 25-16. The Eagles were eager to tie the match 2-2. The Eagles and Mustangs began the set alternating leads. However, LMC took control mid-set. Salazar was responsible for most of the Mustangs’ points, scoring many from a direct serve.

“We wanted to go in there, and just shut it down and win,” said Salazar.

The Volleyball team returns home on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. against Solano College. For more information of the team, visit https://www.losmedanos.edu/volleyball/.