(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College volleyball team (13-9, 8-4 in ACCAC) had potentially the match of the season on Wednesday against Scottsdale Community College (13-4, 9-3).
The Aztecs rallied twice to force a tiebreaker and upset No. 9 ranked Scottsdale Community College 3-2 (18-25, 27-25, 14-25, 25-18, 15-12). The loss snapped Scottsdale’s six-match winning streak.
The tie-breaking set featured 10 ties and five lead changes. Sophomore Kaylee Moseley (Marana HS) came through in the clutch with three straight kills to keep the Aztecs’ advantage. With the score knotted at 12-12, sophomore Jessica Bright-Schade (Safford HS) put Pima up 13-12 with her kill. Sophomore Isabella Jacome followed with an ace and Bright-Schade had the final kill to seal the win.
Player’s Quote: “The team all played for each other and everyone had each other’s back through every point,” Moseley said. “Our defense was great and let us have many offensive threats across the court. Everyone did their job tonight; which as a hitter, allowed me to do my job. I knew I could make a change for my team and I wanted to do that for them.
“This win really meant a lot to us and proves who Pima really is; we are never out of the fight. We are all very excited and proud of this win but not satisfied and ready for the next game.”
After dropping the first set, the Aztecs found themselves in danger of going down 0-2. They trailed 25-24 before Pima volleyball coach Dan Bithell called timeout. Sophomore Deanna Almaguer hit the spike to tie it up. The Aztecs went up 26-25 after a shot went out for the Artichokes. Sophomore Andrea Vigil-German (Ironwood Ridge HS) tied the match at 1-1 with her kill.
The Artichokes took the advantage again after winning the third set but the Aztecs set the tone to begin the fourth set by scoring the first six points. Up 10-6, Moseley, Almaguer and Bright-Schade helped the Aztecs score five straight points and create some breathing room at 15-6. The Aztecs led by as much as 10 points at 21-11 and tied the match again at 2-2.
Coach’s Quote: “I am incredibility proud of our efforts tonight. It took our whole team and we continued to respond in some tough moments against a very talented and determined team,” Bithell said. “We use the saying, ‘bend but never break’ and we were able to stick to that when they put some real pressure on us. I can’t be more happy for the girls right now.”
Moseley finished with a team-high 18 kills and six blocks. Sophomore Karla Soto (Nogales HS) had a double-double of 32 assists and 17 digs as well as five aces.
Vigil-German finished with 12 kills and 17 digs while Jacome posted 22 assists, 11 digs and two aces. Bright-Schade had 13 kills and 17 digs.
Sophomore Aydalis Felix (Rincon HS) finished the match with 24 digs while Almaguer had nine kills.
The Aztecs will play their final regular season road match on Friday at Mesa Community College. First serve is at 7:00 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
