Pierce falls in tournament despite 2 wins Golden West College wins 4th annual Pierce Invitational, beating out 7 other schools in two days

Kat Wilson Roundup Reporter

The Pierce College women’s volleyball team won two games and lost a game at the Pierce Invitational on Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28. The winner of the tournament was Golden West College

Eight teams participated in the tournament, competing in both gyms on campus: Pasadena City College, Golden West College, Porter College, Bakersfield College, San Diego Mesa College, Santa Monica College, Santa Barbara City College and Pierce College.

Pierce lost 2-3 against San Diego Mesa College on Friday, but won 3-0 against Santa Monica College and Pasadena City College 3-0 on Saturday.

“We played an outstanding match [Friday], though we lost,” head coach Nabil Mardini said.

In the third match, Pierce lost in five games, going the distance against San Diego Mesa College.

“They’re a tough team, one of the top teams in the state,” Mardini said. “But we played very, very well.”

In the traditional scarlet, white, and black that is the Pierce volleyball uniform, the women’s team went up against Santa Monica Corsairs on Saturday.

As the first set started to quicken in pace, Sophomore Brittani Elser took a turn to serve for Pierce, sending a shot over the net to Santa Monica which was mishandled and sent one of their players diving to the floor, almost running into the stands to keep that ball alive. Strategically placed mind tricks with fake jumps and calculated hits seemed to be Pierce’s specialty in this match, as they scored point after point.

“I don’t necessarily enjoy [diving]. It hurts,” Avery Rice, a setter for Santa Monica, said. “But it’s something that needs to be