Volleyball spikes habit with win

Golden West College's men's volleyball team defeated Moorpark College in three consecutive sets Tuesday Feb. 15, winning 25-18, 25-21, 25-21. Even with a 3-0 victory, the Rustlers vs. Raiders match up was no slaughter.

Golden West fought to break the pattern of snagging 2-0 leads and losing the third and fourth sets, which cost them a tough five-set loss against Long Beach City College Feb. 9 and forced a drawn-out five-set win over El Camino City College Feb. 11.
Sealing the deal in the third set has continued to be a struggle for the green and gold this season.

"We tend to go a little flat in those sets," head coach Tim Johnson stated, "It seems like we're just shooting ourselves in the foot."

In Tuesday night's game, Golden West found their groove and gained momentum against their opponent early in the match, walking away from the first set with a well-won eight point lead and continued strong play and solid communication into the beginning of the second set.

The Rustlers threatened to fall back into old habits halfway through the match, losing footing and power as quickly as the Raiders were finding theirs. They dug in and struggled through the second set with a narrow four-point win, but had their guns drawn and ready to shoot as they fell behind 10-5 against Moorpark in the middle of the third set.

"That was definitely on our minds," Johnson commented, "We really wanted to prove to ourselves that we wouldn't go flat."

Although they seemed to be on a crash course towards yet another five-set fate, GWC somehow began to pull themselves out of their funk and tip the scales in their favor with point after point and block after block against the MC Raiders.

The tables turned as each GWC player stepped up their game and the team as a whole gained back momentum through communication and points on the scoreboard. The Rustlers ended the set 25-21, earned a win and hopefully kicked a habit.

Golden West faces off next against Los Angeles Pierce College Wednesday Feb. 23 followed by a match against Santa Barbara College at home Friday Feb. 25.