The EC men’s volleyball team led the LA Pierce Brahmas 24-20. Looking to win the set and carry the momentum through the rest of the match, freshman outside hitter Cesar Medina stepped up to serve.
He threw the ball up and served up an ace to end the set 25-20.
The visiting LA Pierce College would try as hard as they could, but there was no stopping the defense of the Warriors as Pierce ultimately got swept, 3-0 in sets.
In the first set, the Warriors struggled offensively, hitting for 14 kills and 11 errors. But on the back of Medina and sophomore libero Allen Sarinana, the team carried through and won set one.
The action did not stop there as the attacking in sets two and three showed16 kills with only three errors in set two and 17 kills and only eight errors in set three showed the Warriors’ strength.
EC’s sophomore middle blocker Peter Nordel said, “after coming out of that weird first set with three early timeouts we got stuff done. Our blocking was phenomenal, and they were a really strong team.”
The defense on the night was “very nice,” sophomore setter Chris Griebenow said.
Sarinana and sophomore outside hitter Casey Wood had 11 digs apiece.
Coach Richard Blount said, “(Sariana’s) defense was wonderful, he’s having a great year, and it’s nice because he’s a practical joker. Whenever I say something he’ll say something right back just to bust my chops.”
The Brahmas’ bench had a chant they said whenever it was their team’s turn to serve. They hoped that whoever received the serve would shank the pass and force a misplay.
Medina who had six digs himself said that it did not bother them, because coach Blount told them to “just rip the ball” and it gave him confidence to just get it up and get the point himself.
Nordel who had 11 kills and Medina who had 17 had great showings that kept them in the match even when it was tight.
Posing a commanding 8-0 undefeated streak the Warriors are the only team in the Western State Conference and the Pacific Coast Conference to remain so.
Along with the streak, beating out LA Pierce puts them at 1-0 in conference play, which has them level with Santa Monica College, also 1-0 in conference play and 6-1 overall.
The Warriors play at Santa Monica this Friday, for a non-conference match at 6 p.m.
