(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College volleyball team (2-7) began play in the NJCAA Division II South Central District Tournament on Friday in Miami, OK.
The Aztecs earned two victories to advance to Saturday’s championship round. The Aztecs will play at 3:00 p.m. (CDT); 1:00 p.m. (MST). They will face off with the winner of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College/Eastfield College match taking place at 1:00 p.m. CDT (11:00 a.m. MST).
Match 1: Pima CC Aztecs 3, (17) Brookhaven College Bears 0 (25-21, 25-19, 27-25)
The Aztecs handed the Bears (12-1) their first defeat of the season. Brookhaven had lost only four sets all season. On the other side, the Aztecs earned their first win of the season.
Sophomore Eve Pearson (Canyon del Oro HS) finished the match with a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs while fellow sophomore Bergen Campbell posted nine kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Holly Stutz (Cienega HS) had eight kills and three blocks.
Match 2: Pima CC Aztecs 3, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Lady Norse 1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23)
After dropping the first set, the Aztecs rallied to take three straight from the Lady Norse.
The Aztecs trailed 23-22 in the 4th set but scored three straight points to close out the match.
Freshman Andrea Vigil-German (Ironwood Ridge HS) led the Aztecs with 19 kills to go along with 12 digs. Campbell also had a double-double of 16 kills and 18 digs while sophomore Aydalis Felix (Rincon HS) finished with 23 digs. Freshman Karla Soto (Nogales HS) had 38 assists and Stutz posted nine kills and four blocks.
Coach’s Quote: “The easiest way to say it, is we had a great day. We played hard and we made adjustments,” Pima volleyball coach Dan Bithell said. “The teams we played were quality and they pushed on us which really allowed us to have grit. Right away we were able to find different energy and momentum and we got better throughout the day.”
Bithell noticed early on in the first match with Brookhaven College that things were starting to click.
“It started on our side of the net. We had ideas of what Brookhaven was trying to do. We had to take things away from them and it started on our side; every player being on the same page and engaged in what they needed to do,” Bithell said. “The sophomores set the tone for us to believe in each other.”
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
