Albano scores early to take tie

we have been down all season,” Germond said. “It was different and wanted to see how we would respond.”

The Pierce Brahmas pushed aside the Moorpark Raiders in three sets (25-22, 25-19, 25-22) in the semifinal round of the 5th Annual Pierce College Invitational and then dropped its match against Santa Barbara in the championship game in four sets (25-17, 25-16, 25-23, 25-22) on Saturday Sept. 28 at Ken Stanley Court.

Pierce was in complete control of the Moorpark game, as the Raiders only led the game twice.

Freshman Autumn Russell had a kill shot early in the first set which made the score 10-6 Pierce. The Brahmas set a pace that the Raiders were unable to match and Russell led the Brahmas with 12 kills.

“We definitely played more as a team today,” Russell said. “The violations helped us out a lot, gave us more momentum.”

Teamwork was key for Pierce in this match, as players who weren’t even in the game could be heard chanting motivational acronyms or as head coach Nabil Mardini put it, “the bench being good teammates.”

Late in the second set, Moorpark engineered a five-point rally that was led by middle blocker Alyssa Wilson. Pierce freshman middle blocker Azeezat Anthonio who had six kills, put a stop to that rally as she executed a hard kill shot to the floor for a 21-14 lead.

Freshman outside hitter Alexandria Bowman ended any thoughts Moorpark had of rallying, as she ended the second set with a kill shot of her own to make the score 25-19.

The third set was much closer until Anthonio’s kill shot pushed the Brahmas lead to 17-14, which helped set off an 8-4 run in which Moorpark had trouble manufacturing points. Mardini offered some reasons on why Pierce was able to win all three sets over Moorpark.

“We definitely passed the ball a lot better than we did yesterday,” Mardini said. “We served the ball real tough. Our blocking at the net was critical.”

As for the Santa Barbara game, it seemed every time the Brahmas were trying to rally or minimize their mistakes, the Vaqueros would respond.

In the first set, Pierce had a seemingly untouchable 11-5 lead that was led by the efforts of captain Jessica Martinez, outside hitter Kirsten Cabarong, and Anthonio. But the Vaqueros were able to go on a sixpoint rally that had Pierce reeling.

Then in the second set, Pierce mounted a 4-2 lead that evaporated as quickly. In that set, Pierce only had the lead in four out of 38 possessions.

If it wasn’t for the efforts of players like freshman Darrin Rice, the third set could have gotten out of hand.

Rice was instrumental to Pierce’s cause, such as diving all over the court for digs, setting up rallies and assisting with kills.

All those elements of Rice’s game have impressed Mardini.

“Rice is a good ball player with a high IQ,” Mardini said. “She sees the game very well, she’s our ballcontrol player.”

It was the third set that was the heartbreaker for the Brahmas. They had multiple chances to put away the Vaqueros. But leaving the middle area open for soft tips and kills by the Vaqueros did the Brahmas in.

Pierce was never in control or able to relax in the fourth set. Pierce did mount a late rally but a serving error ended the set and gave the Vaqueros the championship.

Anthonio had some ideas on what Pierce needs to address before they play Santa Barbara again in conference.

“Next time we play them, we just need to make sure that we keep the same flow throughout the game,” Anthonio said, “and play like every point is a game-point match.”

Pierce hits the road to play the Antelope Valley Marauders today at 6 p.m. and then will try to seek redemption as they play Santa Barbara in the conference home opener Friday at 7 p.m.

The Pierce College Brahmas played a well planned out game to tie 1-1 with the Fresno City College Rams who were the third ranked team in the state going into the matchup Sept. 26.

The Rams started out strong with a lot of ball movement and spacing. Pierce then started to apply pressure on Fresno. Despite the flashy dribbling and footwork the Rams provided it would be Pierce that would strike first in the 13th minute.

The Brahmas would get a free kick from about 35 yards out from defender Stephanie Alcazar that was centered into the box. The ball was then put in the back of the net with a header from Marissa Albano that deflected off the defender before going in to give Pierce a 1-0 lead.

Rams coach Oliver Germond talked about his team facing a deficit against the Brahmas.

“This was the first game that

Going into halftime the Brahmas had a one goal lead and were looking sharp in trying to upset the third ranked team in the state.

In the start of the second half both teams came out strong. The Brahmas were doing a good job of their ball possession and the Rams were counterattacking effectively.

Fresno finally tied the game up in the 65th minute. Rams midfielder DJ Ortiz sent a cross down the middle and fellow midfielder Vanessa Penuna finished it off with a striking header in the bottom left corner to tie the game.

The Brahmas had some opportunities to take the lead again but both defenses would remain strong until the end of the game.

Pierce coach Adolfo Perez had a positive outlook after the game whose team came very close to pulling off the upset.

“I feel we did excellent. Tactically, we did good,” Perez said. “We could have won.”

Albano who scored her first goal of the season felt good as the team heads into conference play Tuesday against Moorpark College.

“We have a good bond as a team that will help us go a long way this season,” Albano said.

Notes: Pierce (4-2-3) will take on Moorpark College in the conference opener at home Tuesday. Last season Pierce clinched the Western State Conference North Division Championship title against the Raiders on the road last year.

Injury Update: Sophomore forward Kiana Riles who broke her left cheekbone against Long Beach City College hasn’t played in two weeks and her return is uncertain.