Seven Straight Wins For State #3 Women's Volleyball

Verenice Gonzalez (6) and Annie Lay (14) have given the Lancers depth in the lineup (photo by Michael Watkins).
Verenice Gonzalez (6) and Annie Lay (14) have given the Lancers depth in the lineup (photo by Michael Watkins).

Now, it's about winning the right way as opposed to just winning for the Pasadena City College women's volleyball team. The state #3-ranked Lancers found their hitting stroke in the final two sets and continued their mastery of serve and pass in sweeping Los Angeles Harbor College, 25-18, 25-15, 25-21, at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium Wednesday night. It was the SoCal Region's No. 1 squad's seventh straight victory.

Coach Mike Terrill's Lancers upped their record to 10-1 and a perfect 5-0 in South Coast Conference play as well as a flawless 7-0 in home matches. 

Against Harbor, PCC jumped out to a giant 22-12 lead in the opening set, but attack errors allowed for a Seahawks rally before finishing out a 7-point win. The Lancers made eight hitting errors, five in a row on one sideout for Harbor (3-9, 0-5). 

Pasadena regrouped in set #2 and worked on hitting for accuracy. The Lancers hit .500 in a 10-point set win and even though Harbor showed some spark late in set #3, PCC's attack stayed focused to complete the sweep. PCC hit .284 overall, it's second-best attack percentage of the season as Verenice Gonzalez scored a team-high 10 kills (hit .353), Camila Sanchez-Tellez ripped eight kills, and Nalani Young scored seven kills (.429) with 10 digs and two aces. Paulina Lopez added five kills (.571) and two aces, Sabiya Esquivel delivered five kills (.286) while Monet Latunde had four kills. 

Setting the different targets were Annie Lay with 18 assists and Nayeli SalasOrtiz with 15 helpers. 

The Lancers state #2 serve produced 13 aces, five by libero Kei'ana Pascua, who contributed 11 digs, and two from Saku Yoshioka

PCC plays at Rio Hondo College on Friday, Oct. 1 in a 6 p.m. conference contest.