After losing two games in a row against Irvine Valley College the women’s volleyball were quick to make the necessary changes to win.
“We made changes by the fourth and fifth game,” Karlee Napoleon, defensive specialist, said. “We touched up passing and we switched our libero Celeste Tuioti-Mariner to the frontcourt to an outside hitter position, once we moved her she played good.”
The Warriors won in five sets 25-17, 22-25, 19-25, 25-18, 15-13 against Irvine Valley College in the opening round of the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs.
Napoleon said that the switches made in the fourth and fifth game were major contributions to the outcome of the game and their win.
“In the second and third game we had problems with passing the ball but we gave the setter more work instead of helping to eliminate the pressure,” Napoleon said.
Napoleon said that once the Warriors lost two games in a row they knew something had to be done or get changed in order to win and continue their winning streak.
“Sometimes you have to move people around and take risks in order to see what works best for the team,” Napoleon added.
Nicole Echeverri, outside hitter, said that the Warriors had a lot of energy in the first game and were excited to get started.
“We won in five sets but we lost the second and third game and made a lot of errors,” Echeverri said. “By the fifth game we picked up our energy and won, 15-13 and it was a close and intense game.”
Echeverri said that the Warriors kept getting tooled a lot, committed some service errors and had a lack of focus in the second and third game.
“We won by keeping our energy and fire high through the whole match and covering,” Echeverri said. “Irvine Valley were struggling a little bit with serves, receiving passes, and were putting the ball away consistently.”
Elise Tizon, outside hitter, said that playing against Irvine Valley demonstrated how strong the Warriors are and were able to defeat an overall strong team
“The game got tough at the end but the changes helped out our team to turn around the game and win,” Tizon said.
“We started the fourth set by blocking multiple balls in a row,” Napoleon said. “It was really crucial at this point to push ourselves and go for the win.”