The SBCC women’s volleyball team opened its season by splitting four matches in a pair of tournaments over the weekend.
At the Bakersfield Quad, the Vaqueros swept El Camino (25-19, 25-22, 25-22) and lost to Mt. San Antonio (28-30, 25-22, 29-27, 25-16) on Saturday.
Charlotte Wilson and Sophie Ward compiled 19 and 10 assists, respectively. The team also served 11 aces.
“At the end of the day, they did a better job of terminating the ball, and we missed too many serves,” Niksto said of the Mt. San Antonio match. “We have so much potential and it’s fun to see different players step up at different times.”
On Friday, the Vaqueros hosted Chaffey and Grossmont. They swept Chaffey (25-10, 25-14, 25-13) and lost a four-set match to Grossmont (25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 25-23).
“It was good to get the first game nerves out as our starting lineup featured four freshmen playing the first collegiate match of their young careers,” head coach Kat Niksto said.
Freshmen Evan Ybarra and Chaya Clemons led the way with 10 and 7 kills, respectively. The team as a whole served 11 aces, led by Celia Espinoza with four.
“Playing against our first playoff-level team, I think came as a bit of a wake up call to the team,” Niksto said of the Grossmont match. “The game got ahead of us a bit in the first two sets.”
Carly Hanna provided a spark in the middle offensively, while Kira Little went on a nice serving run late in the third set to close it out.
“I’m proud of how the team settled in and took game 3, while making game 4 a back-and-forth competitive battle,” Niksto said.
The Vaqueros will be back at home Saturday for their own SBCC Quad tournament, playing Pasadena City at 10 a.m. and San Diego Mesa at 2 p.m.
Free Kick Lifts SBCC Men in Opener
Charles Jay Retzer scored on a 40-yard free kick in the last-minute to give SBCC a 2-1 victory over host L.A. Harbor in Alex Zermeno’s debut as coach for the Vaqueros.
“The team really showed that they can compete, and problem solve when things don’t always go our way,” said Zermeno, who was officially named head coach last week. He replaced John Sisterson, who retired after 18 years of coaching the men’s and women’s teams.
“I am super proud of every single one of these players,” added Zermeno, who served as an assistant for Sisterson. “This game is won in training, during warm-ups before a match, and every one of the 24 players who traveled was ready to step up when their number was called.”
Gino Contreras, Brandon Garcia de la Fuente, Aiden Tapia-Palacios, and Yahir Vasquez paced the attack for SBCC.
The defensive trio of Ivan Virgen, Uli Sevilla, and Hernan Sevilla thwarted numerous attempts by L.A. Harbor.
Women Draw with L.A. Harbor
Gizela Amariz Zermeno floated a masterful corner kick that Stella McKay‘s finished with a header for SBCC’s goal in a 1-1 draw at L.A. Harbor.
Harbor tied the score in the last minute.
Until the final minute, SBCC goalkeeper Anna Kirk made several saves to keep the Seahawks off the board. The Vaqueros got good defensive play from McKay, Charlotte Wheeler, Gabi Wilcox, and Emily McGuire.
The midfield saw the dynamic combination of Zermeno and Athena Raelynn Bow-Graham.
“We were so close, but that’s how the game is sometimes. I’m excited for what the future holds for this group,” said coach Zermeno, who was making his debut.
The women’s soccer team plays at Ventura College against Orange Coast College on Friday at 2:15 p.m.