Golden West Starts Strong

Golden West started with momentum, but was unable to keep it going as Grossmont defeated the Rustlers 22-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-22 at home.

Grossmont (10-4, 7-1) showed its dominance early by getting out to a 4-point lead. That lead would be upheld until Golden West (9-8, 5-5) tied the match at 13. Both teams went back-and-forth from there until the Rustlers were able to keep a late lead and win the set.

Stellar play by the Rustlers' attack helped keep the matches close. Kevin Gorence and Garrett Covey lead the offense with 9 kills apiece. Lalau Togagae was right behind them with 8 and Jared Chasse had 6 out of 44 kills total.

Set 2 was a similar story as the Griffins got out to an early lead thanks to errors by the Rustlers' front court. Golden West did make a comeback on the shoulders of Alvin Truong's serves. Truong recorded 2 aces and put the Grossmont defenders on their heels. After tying the set at 18, Grossmont pulled away and secured a second set victory.

Once again, Grossmont started strong for the third set and took a big lead early. Golden West did its best to come back cutting the lead to 5 and eventually 3, but the hole had already been dug too deep. This set is when Grossmont's 6'9" giant Colin Mitchell came out of his shell. He had been kept at bay for the first two sets, but caught fire in the third.

The fourth set had a bit of an odd start to it as both squads committed multiple technical errors. Golden West was able to get the edge throughout most of the match with as much as a 3 point lead. Unfortunately for the Rustlers, Grossmont came back to tie the score at 18 and then 20. Momentum swung the Griffins' way allowing them to capture the victory.

Golden West will play its final home match of the regular season next Wednesday, April 9 against San Diego Mesa.