After a dominating win at Harbor last Wednesday, the Warriors took a loss on their unblemished record, losing at Pasadena last Friday.
The Warriors lost more games against Pasadena than they have in the past 15 matches. The Warriors fell into second place in the South Coast Conference behind Pasadena.
“I’m definitely upset but I think it’s good that we have the competition,” Courtney Wilson said. “We have a lot to work on, but in the end, we all came together and we didn’t give up.”
The women’s volleyball team was ranked No. 1 in California in the last state rankings, but it remains to be seen to whether it will hold on to that spot with a record of 16-1 (7-1).
“It’s without a doubt a humbling experience that I think every team goes through and it shows the true colors of a team that can get past it,” Wilson said.
The women traveled to cross-town rival Harbor last Wednesday and won big. The Warriors won the match in three straight sets 25-7, 25-9 and 25-9.
That game set up big show down between No. 1 EC and No. 6 Pasadena, where EC came out strong, winning the first game, 25-16.
The tide quickly changed as Pasadena won the next three games, taking the match 25-17, 25-14 and 29-27.
“We definitely didn’t play up to our level,” Donella DiDomenico said. “Everyone was nervous and Pasadena’s cheerful crowd got into people’s heads which caused others to make simple errors.”
It was a heart-breaking loss to the undefeated Warriors as many of the women showed sadness and anger.
“We should learn a lot from the loss. It’s just a bad feeling at the moment,” coach LeValley Pattison said. “We had chances in the fourth game, where we were up 24-21 but they made some great plays.”
The Warriors showed inexperience as they made 31 errors on the night in front of a hostile crowd. There were two bright spots as Kiley Tamblyn accounted for 26 digs and Yacine Mayer added 11 kills and 16 digs.
“Kiley, as usual, played great, she kept us in the match the whole night,” Pattison said.
As of Oct. 6, Tamblyn ranks thirteenth in the state of California for digs per game.
“We just need to come out and work harder in practice and play our hardest,” DiDomenico said. “Physically we are fine, we just need to step up mentally this week.”
The regular season is coming to an end quickly with only eight games left and every game is now more important than the one before. The Warriors will have to win the rest of their games if they hope to regain the No.1 rank in conference and in state.
The women volleyball will circle Nov. 18 on their calendars as they look for redemption against Pasadena when they will come to EC for a rematch and possibly with the conference championship at stake.
The Warriors have hit the road for two games this week. They took on Los Angeles City on Wednesday.
“I am looking forward to playing Pasadena in our home gym, getting the fans involved and battling to fight for that number one spot in league,” DiDomenico said.