The El Camino College Warriors women’s volleyball team secured three straight sets 25-18, 25-17 and 25-15 against the LA Harbor Seahawks in a South Coast Conference showdown on Oct. 11 in the ECC Gymnasium.
Sophomore setter Perla Lopez, who delivered four serve aces throughout the game, strategically aimed the ball to the left corner and the short-middle portion of the court.
“I was serving to my zones tougher,” Lopez said. “I had a clear mind and didn’t think about missing.”
The Seahawks led the first set early on, but the Warriors surged from behind to claim a first-set victory.
“I thought we were a little sluggish to start and then I thought in game three, we came out with much more energy and were a little more fired up,” El Camino coach Liz Hazell said. “We need to maintain that all the time.”
The Warriors recorded 23 attack errors while the Seahawks had nine throughout the game.
“We were airmailing and launching a lot of balls in the start,” Hazell said. “We want to be aggressive, but consistent.”
Despite the Seahawks’ speedy efforts to return the ball, the Warriors’ persistent attacking kept the Seahawks at bay.
Defensively, a team effort of 67 digs were made by the Warriors, including 15 from freshman setter Erica Griffiths, 10 from freshman libero Maddie Gloria and four from freshman outside hitter Yasmine Itani.
“I feel like I played more aggressively than I normally do and I had stronger hits,” Itani said.
The Warriors recorded 43 kills over the course of three sets while the Seahawks recorded 19. Nine of those kills came from El Camino sophomore middle blocker Aireon Scott.
“I thought our middles did really well, they were kind of carrying us for a while,” Hazell added.
During the second set, the Seahawks and the Warriors traded point after point.
In the process, LA Harbor coach Sean Zuvich signaled to game officials double contact was made by two El Camino players from the left side of the court, but a point was awarded to the Warriors after a no-call by officials.
But in the third and final set, the Warriors successfully maintained their dominance over the Seahawks.
An attacking error by Kayla Fierro gave the Warriors an opportunity to seal the game before Arabella Ober and Griffiths ended the contest with a kill.
“Once that adrenaline kicks in, you don’t think too much about certain things, you just play,” Itani said.
Lopez credited the team’s rally from being down in the first set with communication and an increase in tenacity.
“We communicated more, helped each other more and gave each other energy,” Lopez said. “We had more fun and just played.”
The two teams will meet again at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8 at LA Harbor. El Camino’s next game will be on the road against Compton College in a South Coast Conference showdown on Oct. 16 at 6 p.m.
