The women’s volleyball took its travels to Northern California this past weekend. The team’s first game was against the Gators from San Francisco State.
The Broncos have suffered seven straight losses but that didn’t discourage them. With determination to beat their losing streak, it was clear the Broncos were ready.
They were fired up in the first set and made their mark at “The Swamp” at San Francisco State. The Broncos dominated the first set and took the Gators 25-17. With the first set victory, the Broncos got some momentum.
As the second set started, both teams rallied against one another and were trailing each other throughout the whole set. It was the Broncos who came out with the tougher fight and took the second set as well, 25-22. With one set on the line, the Broncos were pumped and took that high energy into the third set.
Little did both teams know, the third set ended up being the deciding set. The Broncos ended up sweeping the Gators and the last set’s ending score was 25-19. The Broncos swept the Gators 3-0 in sets and came out with a victory and ended their seven-match losing streak.
Freshman middle blocker Kaitlan Tucker got on the leaderboard with eight kills and two blocks. The game had many highlights for the Broncos but there was one big turning point that lead the Broncos to victory.
“The turning point of the game was definitely our pregame meditation and just zoning in prior and coming out there with determination,” Tucker said. “We all had the fight to win.”
Freshman outside hitter Jazminn Parrish had eight kills for the night. Freshman opposite-side hitter Daisy Duke and junior middle blocker Ally Wilder both split seven kills. Sophomore setter Kira Zimmerman once again helped the Broncos stay in the game with 28 assists.
Zimmerman reflected on the takeaways from the game and said that the team chemistry was the biggest takeaway.
“We really came together and came out with a lot of confidence, which just kept building and brought our energy even higher,” Zimmerman said.
The Broncos team communication came out strong and reflected their victory.
“I thought our team chemistry was much better,” head coach Traci Dahl said. “Our serve and pass game was really nice from everybody and our blocking was really good.” With another match the day after, Dahl said, “We have to have a big presence at the net.”
Dahl’s confidence in the Broncos made a big impact. The Broncos faced the Pioneers from Cal State East Bay in Hayward Saturday night.
With a win the previous day, the Broncos were ready to take on another match. The Broncos dropped the first set 26-24 to the Pioneers, but that didn’t discourage them. The Broncos won the second set in a close match up with an ending score of 25-23.
The Pioneers fought back and took the third set 25-22. Both teams rallied and played at such high levels of competition that the scores were so close. The Broncos battled and took the fourth set 25-23. With one set on the line, the win was up for grabs for both teams.
They fought and battled against the Pioneers and came out strong with an ending score of 15-11.
The Broncos rallied from a 2-1 deficit to outlast host Cal State East Bay in five sets (24-26, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11) on Saturday night at Pioneer Gymnasium in Hayward.
Wilder ended the night with 18 kills, and Parrish and Duke also had double-digit kills. Zimmerman came out with rapid fire and ended the night with 49 assists.
With two wins under their belt, the Broncos prepare to take that energy to Cal State Dominguez Hills at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1.
