The Los Medanos College volleyball team faced a tough doubleheader on Sept. 17, dropping both matches at home to Clovis and College of the Sequoias.
In the opener, the Mustangs fell to Clovis 3-0. After falling behind 23-10 in the first set, LMC lost 25-15. The second set was faster paced and tightly contested before ending 25-21 in favor of the visiting Crush. LMC opened the third set strong, trading points throughout, but Clovis closed it out 25-19.
Despite the sweep, the Mustangs put up steady numbers, finishing the match with 46 kills and 62 assists.
The second match of the day was even more difficult as the Mustangs faced Sequoias, a Northern California powerhouse with a 12-2 record. The Giants, ranked No. 6 in the region and No. 17 in the state, controlled the tempo from start to finish, winning in straight sets, 25-10, 25-19, 25-14.
Head coach Taylor Thompson said the results were disappointing but highlighted the growth her team is showing.
“We’re improving every time that we play, and that’s all I can ask for,” Thompson said. “Hopefully we can take it into the conference and get some wins.”
Libero Himani Arora echoed the focus on development and emphasized the team’s chemistry on the court.
“Honestly, I think that the outcomes, even if we win or lose, are really good,” Arora said. “My team really played really scrappy. We were all over on the court, and honestly, the main goal was for just all of us to have fun, and I think we accomplished that.”
The Mustangs fell to 1-11 overall after the doubleheader. They later traveled north for the Mendocino Invitational in Ukiah, where they dropped two more matches — a 3-2 reverse sweep to Redwoods and a 3-0 loss to Siskiyous — to slide to 1-13 on the season.
Still, Arora said the team remains confident as conference play approaches.
“We’re pretty confident,” Arora said. “Honestly, we’re just like I said, we’re using these games to look at our mistakes, get better from them, and then in conference come out as strong as we can, cleaning everything up now.”
Thompson said she is seeing steady improvements in team defense and offensive execution against stronger competition.
“Overall, our serve receive, defense, we’re picking up balls, we’re scrappy,” she said. “We’re doing better on offense. I mean the other team, they’re big blockers. So yeah, we’re just improving overall.”
The Mustangs look to open conference play strong, hosting Yuba College at home Oct. 1.
