El Camino College men’s volleyball ramped up its hot streak with victory over Pierce College as it enters Western State Conference play.
Extending their win streak from their previous two matches against Fullerton and Golden West, the Warriors jumped into the conference opener on Wednesday, March 1, with momentum taking over the Brahmas 3-1.
After two mental errors early in the match, the Warriors scorched the Brahmas on five straight possessions. Travis Hannemann, outside hitter, finished with 13 kills on 30 swings, followed by Kasra Alipour with 11 kills on 21 swings.
Meanwhile, Pierce College took on the Warriors in their first game of the season with no preseason matches under its belt.
After losing the opening set against the seasoned Warriors squad, Brahmas player Brandon Ta rallied his team for a tough second set El Camino barely inched out 25-22.
Ta and the Brahmas displayed their grit in the third set overwhelming the Warriors 25-19 in a momentous triumph featuring multiple mistakes for the Warriors on the court.
Interim Warriors coach Kurt Peters told The Union about his team’s performance on the court for their first conference showing.
“[Pierce] got a little confidence because we didn’t sustain pressure on them,” Peters said. “We made a lot of mistakes in a row and that caused them to get more confidence.”
Nonetheless, Brahmas newly hired coach Joseph Arechiga saw the game as a chance for his team to completely adjust and accustom themselves to each other after missing out on preseason matchups.
“We have all new freshmen, it was just a lot of nerves at first, and we kind of saw it,” Arechiga said. “But they slowly built their confidence and realized they could play, they believed in themselves and they believed in each other.”
Ta concluded the match with 14 kills on 39 attempts despite losing to the Warriors along with Brahmas player Vinny Harris chipping in 11 kills in the loss.
Warriors outside hitter Turner Crump said it was upsetting to lose the third set in the way they did despite being pleased with the 3-1 win over the Brahmas.
“We kind of gave up more errors than we’d like to,” Crump said. “We wanted to show that we’re El Camino; we’re a good team.”
The Warriors (3-3) head away to face Antelope Valley College Marauders (3-4) on Friday, March 3 with the first serve starting at 6 p.m.
