(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College volleyball team (14-12) played a tough match to open its portion of the NJCAA Region I, Division II Tournament on Thursday against Chandler-Gilbert Community College (18-3).
The No. 4 seeded Aztecs won the first two sets but the No. 1 seeded Coyotes rallied to win in the fifth set tiebreaker 14-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-11, 15-12.
Sophomore Karla Soto (Nogales HS) started off the final set with a kill and two aces forcing the Coyotes to call a quick timeout. The Aztecs went up 7-3 with sophomore Isabel Hansen’s (Rincon HS) block-point but the Coyotes scored seven straight points to put Pima down 10-7. The Aztecs rallied with five straight of their own to take the lead back. Sophomore Isabella Jacome’s ace made it 12-10 and Chandler-Gilbert called their second timeout. The Coyotes scored five straight to end the match.
In the first set, the Aztecs broke a 4-4 tie with five straight points. Up 13-7, the Aztecs got a kill from sophomore Haley Duncan (Walden Grove HS) and two straight from sophomore Andrea Vigil German (Ironwood Ridge HS) to put them up 16-7. The Aztecs took their biggest lead of the set when Vigil German had a kill and followed it up with an ace to make it 22-11. Soto had an ace to put the Aztecs up 1-0 in the match.
The Aztecs fell behind 8-5 in the second set but scored seven straight points to take a 12-8 advantage. Sophomore Jessica Bright-Schade (Safford HS) had three kills during that stretch and Duncan had three blocks. Vigil German had two straight kills to put Pima up 15-10 forcing the Coyotes to call timeout. The Aztecs led by as much as six points at 18-12. Vigil German’s kill sealed the win to put the Aztecs up 2-0.
Vigil German led the Aztecs with 16 kills and capped off a double-double with 10 digs. Sophomore Aydalis Felix (Rincon HS) finished with 38 digs while Bright-Schade posted 10 kills and 11 digs. Jacome had 18 assists and Soto finished with 17 assists and 16 digs.
The Aztecs will face off with No. 3 seeded Scottsdale Community College in an elimination match on Friday at 11:00 a.m.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
