(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College volleyball team (5-12, 2-5 in ACCAC) was unable to overcome Arizona Western College (4-9, 2-2) on Wednesday as the programs battled at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium.
The Aztecs tied the match at 1-1 but dropped the next two sets to the Matadors falling in four games (25-20, 21-25, 25-20, 25-21).
The Aztecs trailed the entire first set but closed the gap at 19-18 after sophomore Jessica Bright-Schade’s (Safford HS) kill and an out-of-bounds call forced the Matadors to use a timeout. Arizona Western scored six of the final eight points to take the lead in the match.
The Aztecs held the advantage with the exception of one tie in the second set. Up 16-15, the Aztecs widened their lead with kills from sophomore Lina Kassimatis and Bright-Schade. An out-call put Pima up 19-15. Sophomore Isabel Hansen and Bright-Schade had back-to-back kills to make it 21-16. The Matadors scored four straight points to cut Pima’s lead to 21-20. Hansen had a block at the net for a point on the ensuing volley to halt the momentum. Freshman Laney Morris’ (Thatcher HS) kill set up set-point for the Aztecs at 24-21. The Matadors hit the ball out of bounds and the Aztecs tied the match at 1-1.
The Matadors regained control in the third set. Pima trailed 12-10 and Arizona Western scored six straight points to go up 18-10. The Aztecs cut the deficit to three points on two occasions down the stretch. Hansen had a kill that made it 22-19 and sophomore Madi Wilson (Tanque Verde HS) made it 23-20 with her kill but that’s as close as they would get.
There was only one tie for the third straight set as Arizona Western held the advantage. Trailing 17-15, the Aztecs gave up four straight points as they fell behind 21-15. From there the Aztecs scored three of the next four points. Freshman Sasha Ross (Canyon del Oro HS) had two kills and Hansen scored an ace as Pima trailed 21-19. The Matadors scored five of the final six points to close it out.
Bright-Schade finished the match with her fifth double-double of the season in kills and digs. She had 15 kills and 16 digs to go along with two aces and two blocks.
Sophomore Isabella Jacome, who surpassed 1,000 assists for her Pima career in the last match against South Mountain, added to her total finishing with 36 assists. She also produced a double-double finishing with 13 digs.
Kassimatis had seven kills while Hansen posted six kills, five blocks and two aces. Freshman Morgan Hains (Canyon del Oro HS) had 16 digs and two aces and Morris finished with 11 digs, three kills and two aces.
The Aztecs will play at South Mountain Community College next Wednesday, Oct. 5 in Phoenix. Match time is set for 7:00 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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