The women’s volleyball team made its way Saturday to Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino as the Broncos tried to redeem themselves against the top-ranked team, the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes. The Broncos were swept at their home court two weeks ago and wanted revenge.
After playing five straight home games, it was time to steer directions. With such a tough loss to the Coyotes two weeks ago, the Broncos came in with much more practice as a team and were ready to battle.
During the first set, the Broncos rallied as hard as they could but the Coyotes caught momentum and took the set. The ending score of the first set was 25-13 in favor of the Coyotes.
While preparing for the second set, the Broncos knew they had to switch gears. They fought and got some high numbers on the leaderboard but missed their mark. The Coyotes got their rhythm going and it set back the Broncos. The Coyotes took the set at 25-15. The game wasn’t over for the Broncos and their determination to fight was still there.
The third, and what ended up being the final, set became very crucial. The Broncos knew they had to come with fire. The fight and determination didn’t go unnoticed when they got up to 16 in the scoreboard. However, they fell short and the Coyotes took the set 25-16.
The Broncos ended up getting swept once again 3-0 by the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes. With another tough loss to add, it didn’t let the Broncos get discouraged.
During each set, the Broncos got better and learned something new. Junior middle blocker Ally Wilder ended the night with five kills and put up one ace for the Broncos. Wilder also had the most digs, seven, for the match. After reevaluating Saturday night’s game, Wilder said, “We improved a lot. I saw a transfer from practice to the game.”
With two weeks to prepare for this match, experiencing improvement was a big factor in the way the Broncos played against such a tough competitor.
Freshman outside hitter Jazminn Parrish put up more great numbers to add to her record. Parrish ended the night with 15 kills, which was more than half of the Broncos’ 26 kills.
Sophomore setter Kira Zimmerman was the leader in assists during the match with 13. Senior setter Kaitlin Powell trailed behind her with eight assists.
Freshman outside hitter Kylie Brandt got on the leaderboard for Saturday’s game. Brandt had three kills that helped keep the Broncos alive. Although they suffered a loss, there were strengths that the Broncos had.
“I feel like my biggest strength for tonight was coming in, doing my job and getting points for my team while bringing high energy to the court,” Brandt said. “I feel like as a team tonight, we kept good communication and high energy on the bench as well as on the court. I also feel like we did a great job of not giving up despite playing one of the hardest teams in our conference.”
The Coyotes remain undefeated in 2019, rising to 17-0. The Broncos have lost seven straight, falling to 2-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The Broncos are now 4-13 overall.
The Broncos are headed up to San Francisco State to face the Gators at their home court, the Swamp, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25.
