Being down 5-0 at the end of the first quarter of play did not stop the El Camino women’s water polo team from playing hard, forcing steals, and swimming hard to the ball.
They struck out on offense when shot after shot was blocked or went off target, but the defense showed improvement, coach Corey Stanbury said.
But alas, the Warriors (0-9 overall, 0-4 in conference) dropped the match 13-0 against the Pasadena City College (PCC) Lancers (5-6 overall, 1-2 in conference) Wednesday.
Stanbury felt the match went well, considering the team is still new and improving.
“They’ve played seven matches since last Wednesday,” he said. “They were tired, but they were hustling better, and they seem stronger, so I’m happy with that.”
Although EC could not shake the net a single time in the match, Stanbury felt the women played a stronger opponent compared to Monday’s match against Cerritos.
“(PCC) played a lot of their second string,” he said. “They tried to use the second string as primary scorers, and they were a lot faster and a lot stronger than us. They have fast people who are more experienced. I mean, we’ve had improvement, but they are going to see improvement too.”
Stanbury thinks that Pasadena would beat Cerritos College anytime.
“Cerritos played their first string and held back less (than PCC),” he said. “But we actually scored off their first string.”
Sophomore captain Richelle Miller thought the team needs to work on being each other’s eyes in the pool, but the team did better than expected.
“There’s been a lot of improvement, since the beginning,” she said. “I think I can work on passing to open people better and maybe communication.”
Bethany Andrade, freshman, thought today’s match was a setback and that the team was a bit confused on what to do with “dropping in” and “crashing”.
“Dropping in” refers to surrounding the setter on the opposing team and trying to steal the ball, while “crashing” refers to driving to the goal and trying to get the ball from the setter and score, Andrade said.
“We practiced the offense, but the team didn’t look ready,” she said. “We need more power on offense and more preparation. We need to be quick and fast.”
The Warriors will look to avoid double-digit losses in the season when they host East Los Angeles College on Oct. 14 for a conference match at 3 p.m.
“We’re working more as a team,” Miller said. “The communication is better, and communication is always good.”
