GEORGETOWN, Texas. – The Southwestern volleyball team fell short with 1 win and 3 losses in the Pacific Coast Classic this weekend.
Friday, Aug.31, the Pirates lost one game against La Verne and won against Occidental.
Game 1: La Verne 3, Southwestern 1 Set Scores: 25-22, 25-21, 19-25, 25-22
In the opening two sets, La Verne won with the Pirates not far behind. In the third set, the Pirates were able to win 19-25 however, with two sets won by La Verne, the Pirates could not come back for a match win. Jamison Duck had a high of 13 kills against La Verne and Brandi Campos also had a high of 21 digs for the Pirate Defense.
Game 2: Southwestern 3, Occidental 0 Set Scores: 25-17, 25-17, 26-24
The Pirates were able to bounce back from the game one loss and swept the Tigers in their second game of the day. The Pirates averaged 44 kills with Maya Clausen leading with eight kills and defensively, Brandi Campos with 16 digs.
Saturday, Sept. 1, the Pirates lost both matches against Carthage and No. 1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Game 3: Carthage 3, Southwestern 0 Set Scores: 26-24, 25-16, 25-18
The Pirates started strong, almost claiming the first set, however, after the first set loss the Lady Reds pulled away with the last two set wins. Jamison Duck led the Pirates with eight kills against the Lady Reds, and Brandi Campos had 17 digs for the Pirates defense; however, the Lady Reds offense overpowered the Pirates defense.
Game 4: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Southwestern 0 Set Score: 25-15, 25-20, 25-19
After an upsetting loss against Carthage, the Pirates started off slow in the first set against the No. 1 Athenas. In the last two sets, the Pirates picked up offensively but could not find the momentum to pull through in their second match against Claremont. Makenzie Mendez and Brandi Campos both had 14 digs on the defensive end, while Jamison Duck once again led the offense with eight kills.
Coach Don Flora speaks to the tournament, saying "This was an excellent group of teams to test ourselves against early in the season. We have developed a deep list of items that are very attainable and we can learn and grow with this weekend's experiences."
Understanding that this year's team has a lot of young players, Flora mentions "We must be able to look ourselves in the mirror and see that we are on a growth path. If we stay deeply honest with the type of hard work this will take, we can become quite a team."
2017 SCAC Defensive Player of the Year Brandi Campos was a steaming force defensively all weekend, Flora says. Offensively, Flora also mentions Makenzie Mendez helping settle the offense into some rhythm throughout the two days of competition. With reflection and a plan to move forward into the season, the Pirates look to the next week and start of their 2018 season.
This upcoming week, the Pirates will set out Tuesday, Sept. 4 to play Chapman at 4:00 p.m. and then return home to compete Saturday against Huston-Tillotson at 2:00 p.m. Sept. 8.