(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College volleyball team (15-12, 11-6 in ACCAC) picked up a big ACCAC conference win on Wednesday at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium.
The Aztecs upset No. 24 ranked Mesa Community College in four sets (25-14, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21). The Aztecs took two of the three matchups with the Thunderbirds during the regular season. The Aztecs and the Thunderbirds (16-10, 11-7) have both locked up spots in the Region I, Division II Tournament but are vying for the No. 3 seed.
The Aztecs fell behind after dropping the first two points but rallied off seven straight to take the lead for good in the first set. The Thunderbirds closed the gap to 13-11 but the Aztecs scored 11 of the next 13 points to take a double digit lead at 24-13. Pima went up 1-0.
Sophomore Haylee Gilleland (Flagstaff HS) put Pima up 6-4 after her ace but Mesa scored nine of the next 12 points to go up 13-9. Down 16-10, the Aztecs went to Gilleland, who had three straight kills to cut it to 16-13. The Aztecs got four straight kills from freshman Ava Harrelson, sophomore Kenna Simon, sophomore Elli Meinke (Ironwood Ridge HS) and freshman Maggie McReynolds (Mountain View HS) as the Aztecs itched closer forcing the Thunderbirds to call timeout with the score at 19-18. Mesa scored six of the final eight points to tie the match at 1-1.
The Aztecs held a slim advantage for much of the third set. They took their biggest lead at 21-15 forcing Mesa to call timeout. The Thunderbirds rallied off five straight points to make it 21-20. The Aztecs won three of the final four points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Aztecs led for much of the fourth set, but Mesa tied it up at 16-16. Harrelson had a kill on the next point and Gilleland put down an ace to make it 18-16. Mesa tied it up again at 20-20 but the Aztecs scored five of the final six points and got a couple kills from McReynolds to seal the win.
Gilleland posted a team-high 20 kills to go along with four aces and two blocks. McReynolds finished with 15 kills, two blocks and one ace while Harrelson had six kills and one block. Freshman Julia Weatherbie (Mountain View HS) closed out the match with 40 assists.
The Aztecs will close out the regular season on Friday against No. 6 ranked Scottsdale Community College. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
Press Release courtesy of Pima Aztec Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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