State champions begin title defense three games, men's volleyball start the season 1-2

FELIPE GAMINO Sports Editor @fgamino13

Coming back from a championship season can be difficult, especially if there are new faces on the team and changes on the sidelines.

Edison Zhou took over the men’s volleyball program as Head Coach after Lance Walker decided to step down from the position.

“Edison is awesome. He is the head coach now. I had to step down because I got my second daughter coming in six weeks so he is really at the helm,” Walker said. “The Brahmas are in great hands.”

Walker said he is proud to know that there are good coaches in the program that can assist players if they needed the help.

“It is great that we have them because each single one has a knitch that we can plug into and not overload these guys,” Walker said.

The Brahmas won their 8th state title in program history and their first in 15 years after beating the 2017 champions Orange Coast College in four sets.

The team are currently 1-2 to start the season heading to conference play which begins in two weeks.

Without the majority of the players that were on that team last year, including most valuable player Cole Chea and assists leader Bernardo Roese, the Brahmas began their season hosting the Pirates in a rematch of the championship game on Jan. 30.

OCC dominated the match getting the win over the state champions in straight sets (25-10,

“Edison is awesome. He is the head coach now. I had to step down because I got my second daughter coming in six weeks so he is really at the helm. The Brahmas are in great hands.”

Walker Former head coach

25-13 and 25-17).

New men’s volleyball head coach Edison Zhou gave his analysis on the team’s start.

“We have done pretty good. My first time being a head coach now and I believe we have done pretty well, even though we can improve in certain areas,” Zhou said.

Zhou coached the women last season before being summoned to lead the men. He gave the difference between coaching both

Brahma of the Week

Johnathan Lavallee

Sport: Baseball

Position: Pitcher

Class: Sophomore

High School: Royal

Pitched seven shutout innings with eleven strikeouts against Oxnard College on Feb. 12.

Is there anyone you look up to?

“I look up to my two coaches, Picketts and Virgil. They are by far the two best coaches I've ever had.”

Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions?

“I always drink an energy drink before games. It gets me that little bit of extra energy that I need to get through a game with the same intensity for three hours.”

If you weren’t playing basketball, what sport would you do?

"Water polo."

Any plans after Pierce?

“Plan A is getting drafted after this year. But what I see realistically is transfering to a D1 college to play baseball."