Drips of sweat and a smile could be seen on Kiley Tamblyn’s face as the Lady Warriors walked off their home court after a win over Long Beach City College last Friday.
The Warriors wrapped up their six-game long week over LBCC winning 25-19, 25-12, and 25-21, enhancing their record to 14-0 (5-0) and keeping their No. 1 rank in California.
In the first game, the Warriors were in a deadlock at 10 a piece, but Ashleigh Gideon got back-to-back kills to keep EC’s rally alive and extend the lead to 15-0.
After some of EC’s miscues, LBCC rallied to get the score to 21-18 to their favor. EC then rallied and ended the first game with a to win 25-19.
LBCC had trouble serving the ball all throughout the match and gave EC free points all night.
After a huge dig by Tamblyn, EC got a point to add to its 8-3 lead, followed by an ace by Kayelani Tanuvasa and a kill by Yacine Meyer that put EC on top 14-4.
Gideon provided a pivotal dig, which led to another kill by Meyer and gave EC a 22-10 lead. To end the game, Tanuvasa got a kill for a final score of 25-12.
Unlike the first two games, EC came out flat and was down early in the last one. But the Warriors came alive late and rallied to go up to a score of 14-10. LBCC tried to rally back late, but it wasn’t enough as the Warriors won 25-21.
Tamblyn lead the way with 14 digs and 4 aces and Tanuvasa had 11 digs and 27 assists. Meyer added 15 kills and is becoming a force hitter.
“It was a team effort and I just came out confident,” Meyer said. “Without those good passes and sets, I wouldn’t get my kills.”
The Warriors started their week off by beating Los Angeles City College and Mt. San Antonio at home on Sept.23 and 24. The women dominated the LACC match by outscoring them 75-25 in the minimum amount of games.
The squad also hit the road against Ventura, Los Angeles Trade Tech and Cerritos College and came through with wins in all three matches.
“We are playing pretty well,” coach LeVally Pattison said. “We are looking better with every match.”
On the road, Meyer has led the way with 15 kills and 13 digs and Tamblyn led the way for the defense with 21 digs.
Tanuvasa is slowly becoming a star in the Warriors line-up as she plays better every week.
“Kaylani is setting very well, averaging 10 assists per game,” Pattison said. “She has settled into the primary setter position.”
The Warriors did not play up to their standards against Cerritos and even though they came away with the win, the captains called a meeting.
“I called a meeting because we needed to get focused and get all on the same page for the rest of the season,” Tamblyn said.
The Warriors have been on a roll all season and out of 46 games they have played, they have only lost four. That is a 91.3 winning percentage on the season.
Though the Warriors are undefeated, they suffered a blow as outside hitter Sarah Prather missed action this past week. She hasn’t played all week due to a possible Meniscus tear in her knee. Prather transferred to EC from the University of Hawaii.
Pattison said that the team misses Sarah and that it is really going to need her down the stretch.
“The team has stepped up and is doing a great job offensively,” Prather said. “We needed an outside hitter and Meyer has really stepped it up.”