before first win

two goals, but was then halted by a yellow card given to Pierce, after which ELAC scored their third goal.

“There’s not much more we can do to prepare,” Perez said. “We’ve done everything we can. I guess we could play a little different, but that’s all that’s left.”

Pierce made one more goal through a corner kick. Once again Somers beat two defenders in the box to head the ball past the keeper with five minutes left in the game. ELAC scored their final goal within minutes of the game being over.

ELAC defender Martina Satanassi, 20-year-old center back who throughout the game neutralized Pierce’s forwards with her physical play and hard tackles, described her joy for her team’s win. “My favorite part of the game was when I intercepted the ball. It felt pretty awesome,” Satanassi said.

Satanassi, in the final moments of the game, made a goal line clearance that eliminated any hopes Pierce had of a comeback.

“It’s painful, not winning games,” Perez said. “Looks like it’s going to be a very long year.”

Jesus Castro/Ethan Hanson Roundup Reporter

Pierce College’s three-time state championship women’s volleyball team saw its 66-match winning streak come to a crashing end by losing four out of the five games that started off the season.

The Brahmas lost their first three games of the season, which were played in a tournament on Aug. 30.

The first game was lost to Yavapai College (Ariz.), 25-18, 25-18, 25-20. The Brahmas later got swept again, losing to Chaffey College, 25-21, 2521, 25-17 and then falling to Gavilan College, 25-16, 25-12, 25-22.

The last time the Brahmas had lost a game was in 2010 when they were defeated by Santa Rosa at the state championship tournament in five games before rebounding and claiming their first title by defeating the Bear Cubs in the last game 25-23.

The team then won in its Sept. 6 match against San Bernardino Valley College 3-1, but lost 0-3 against Grossmont College.

The first set of the match against San Bernardino went to Pierce with a score of 25-21.

However, San Bernardino was able to turn around the second set of the game from a 12-21 disadvantage to a 25-23 steal.

“It was the first time my team beat Pierce at a set,” said San Berndardino’s coach, Tricia Rossman.

The third set of the game started off with ball control going back and forth, but it ultimately was dominated by Pierce 25-14.

Pierce gradually took the lead on the fourth set of the game, only letting San Bernardino catch up due to the faults Pierce made. The final score of the set was 25-20.

Rossman was proud of the work her team had displayed.

“They did very well. They dug a lot of balls and competed well. I saw a big improvement from their last game,” Rossman said.

Pierce head coach Nabil Mardini, on the other hand, thought his team’s performance for the first game was “average.”

“We served OK. We didn’t pass the ball. We didn’t make many opportunities to make kills,” Mardini said of his team’s performance. Brittani Elser, 19, one of the players for Pierce, thought her team’s performance had improved from the Aug. 30 tournament.

“Our intensity was better than last Friday. The team camaraderie was better than last Friday as well,” Elser said.

The second game of the night was completely dominated by Grossmont. The first set was 17-25 while the second set was 18-25.

Though the final set was a close match, Pierce ultimately lost 23-25. Mardini said there were some adjustments he’d like his team to make. “We need to hit the ball better, set the ball better. Our ball control is iffy at times,” Mardini said.

Additional reporting by: Ethan Hanson