Chargers trample over Gauchos
The Saddleback College women’s volleyball team played and lost in a heart-wrenching match against Cypress College last Friday.
The first game can only be described as intense, as the Gauchos dominated for the majority of the first set with a fluid combination of hitting, serving, and tips.
While they established a lead early in the game, the Saddleback women could not quite clench the win.
A series of passing and hitting errors enabled Cypress to make a comeback for the win.
The refereeing of this match left much to be desired for Saddleback, as two Cypress lifts went unnoticed. Also, a block that would have won the game for Saddleback was labeled as a lift and the potentially devastating win was snatched away.
“They played with heart and showed courage. But it seems they got ahead of themselves and let victory slip away. We just lost our composure,” said Max Luburic, 19, music major, commenting on the first game.
The final score for the first game was 26-24.
The second game was another matter entirely. Like a phoenix rising from its ashes, the Gauchos rallied with a vengeance. Two big blocks early on seemed to rattle the Cypress women, who were unable to bounce back and gave up the game 19-25.
The referees continued their lack of diligence throughout the match; failing to notice doubles and lifts.
The Gauchos seemed to be haunted by their anti-climactic finish in the first round during their third set, and failing to capitalize on the momentum of their second set win, gave up the game for a 25-12 finish.
During the fourth game, tensions ran high. The audience seemed to hover on the edge of their seats, gaping at the athletic display of the women on the court.
The Gaucho women displayed tremendous heart, continuing to encourage each other despite a mounting score against them.
Michell Lisowski, in particular seemed to fire up her team. Her cries of “we got this,” bolstered the team’s resolve.
Words only go so far, but Lisowski also lead the team based off of her performance. Her nose was always in the thick of the game, and her action rolls made her dives and digs all the more impressive.
Despite this stellar performance, the Gaucho women were unable to claim the fourth set, and lost 25-22.
“We play [hard] at every point pretty much, every point counts” said Lisowski, “we play every point like it’s the first one”.