The Los Medanos College Women’s volleyball team fell in a five-set thriller against Napa Valley on Wednesday Oct, 8. The final score was 3-2. The Mustangs took the first set 25-17 but lost the next two 25-13 and 25-21. They battled back to win the fourth 27-25 before losing the final and deciding fifth set 15-13.
The game was summarized by long series, powerful serves and big swings. Napa Valley got stronger over the course of the night, but Los Medanos matched them point for point.
Gwen Loebs Staeps finished with nine kills, hitting .368 with 10.5 points. Niamiah Moreno led the team with 15 kills and five service aces. Fetuloa Te’o added 18 kills on 42 attempts. Setter Breanna Fumar ran the offense with 40 assists. Himani Bakshi led the defense with 26 digs.
After the match, Loebs Staeps shared her thoughts. “I played my 110 percent. I did everything that I had to do, especially when it was 13 to 14 and it was all in my hands to get that serve over. I was definitely anxious, but I did everything that I could do,” she said.
She also spoke about the team’s mindset in the final set. “My mindset was, let’s just win. They were very scrappy. If we can win two other sets, we can win this last set.”
The Mustangs came close but fell short in the final points. Loebs Staeps said the team has their eyes forward. “Going forward, my mindset is going to be all I can do is I can give my 110 percent and as long as I’m doing that every day I’m gonna be happy with myself regardless.”
Coach Thompson was proud of the effort. “We fought, and that’s all I can ask for. Napa is a good team. We made some mistakes throughout the match that hurt us at the wrong times, but we did our best and we fought to the end,” she said.
She also talked about growth. “We’re improving, and that’s all I can ask for. We’re a young team. I think I have nine freshmen, so we’re just working to get better every game.”
Coach Thompson pointed to big moments from her hitters. “My outside hitters swinging away, getting big kills at big times, really brought up the momentum for the whole team,” she said. “We were adjusting to their offense. We were putting the ball in smart places. We just have to learn how to finish and close it out.”
Himani Bakshi added energy on the court. “I feel really good about how the team played today, especially because we started off a little bit slow, and then we picked up the energy really well,” she said.
She also shared how the team can build on the match. “Honestly, how hard we played. In our heads, I feel like we crushed them. So I see this as a positive achievement. Going on from next week, taking this as practice and going in for a win next week.”
The Mustangs finished with 36 kills and 12 aces. They also had 74 digs. Their aggressive play at the net kept Napa Valley under pressure all night.
The loss was close, but it showed growth. The Mustangs have proven they can push strong opponents to the wire. Their energy, leadership and fight were clear throughout the match. They’ll look to bounce back on the road vs. Solano Oct, 15.
