Kelsey Soos served three straight aces to open Wednesday’s women’s volleyball match and Jessica Tune closed it out with a sizzling kill that secured SBCC’s thrilling 3-2 victory over powerhouse L.A. Pierce. The scores were 25-18, 20-25, 25-22, 25-27, 15-13.
SBCC had 18 service aces in the match at the Sports Pavilion, led by Soos (5), Maria Mayer (5) and Tune (4). It was the fifth straight win for the 24th-ranked Vaqueros (5-1) and the first match that’s gone beyond three games. Pierce, which went 32-2 last year, fell to 0-4.
“It was exciting because we haven’t beat them for six years,” said Soos, a freshman setter from Santa Ynez High. “We all connected really well. We have great team chemistry.”
Mayer pounded 11 kills, Tune had nine, Jennifer Waddill eight and Nicole Bergmann seven. Waddill hit .467 in the 2 hour, 15-minute marathon. Soos had 42 assists and Case Jenkins notched 20 digs.
“We were prepared for this,” said coach Ed Gover. “We knew this is a very talented Pierce team, although they have a lot of injuries right now. We needed this first good test of where we are. The girls did a great job of maintaining their composure.”
SBCC jumped to a 17-10 lead in the first set, thanks to eight aces. In the fourth set, they had match points at 24-23 and 25-24 but couldn’t close it out.
The Vaqueros built a 10-5 lead in the fifth set, thanks to a 9-3 run capped by a Waddill kill in the middle. The Brahmas cut a 14-11 deficit to 14-13 before Tune finished it off with a kill that deflected off a defender in the back row.
“One of our goals is to remain calm, we call it ‘calm intensity,’ ” said Gover. “We stayed calm, even when we didn’t get the win in the fourth set. We came back in the fifth set and never panicked. We’re a good serving team and the ball really moves around in this hot gym.
“This was our best match of the year, by far.”
SBCC will face two strong opponents on Saturday in their Quad Tournament. The Vaqueros will take on Fullerton at 11 a.m. and Golden West at 3 p.m. Cuesta will battle Golden West at 11 a.m. and Fullerton at 3 p.m.
