The San Diego Mesa women’s volleyball team defeated Grossmont College on Wednesday night in front of a boisterous crowd in a five-set thriller 25-18, 20-25, 26-24, 21-25, 15-7.
Mesa improves to 12-9 overall and stays on top of the conference standings with an unblemished 5-0 record.
Sophomore outside hitters Raven Casas led the charge with 23 kills, followed by Zoe Tippets with 17.
“We’ve known all season that we had to get better at defense. This was our best defensive game and it propelled us to victory," states head coach Bobbie Jo Stall. "This was the most emotionally mature game we’ve had. I’ve been saying it all year, once we learn how to control our emotions, we’ll come out on top.”
The match started out great for the Olympians as they never trailed capturing the first set 25-18.
Set two went back-and-forth having been tied at 5-5, 12-12, and 13-13. Grossmont was able to go on a couple of runs having grabbed the lead at 13-17 and captured the set at 20-25.
Mesa captured the pivotal third set 26-24. Led by great setting from freshman Rachel Wilkocz (San Pasqual HS), the team controlled the set with only two ties at 11-11 and 13-13.
Needing only the fourth set to win the match, Mesa jumped to an early 13-8 lead, followed by another five-point lead at 16-11. With some untimely errors and great play by the Griffins, Grossmont was able to claw back and grabbed the fourth set 21-25 bringing the game to a fifth and deciding set.
In the final set, Mesa took a commanding 10-2 lead and never looked back closing the match 15-7. “During the fifth set we all realized the opportunity that we had in front of us. Something clicked, and we went to work,” explains Raven Casas. “Our coaches always tell us to do our jobs. We did, and we came out victorious.”
“Everybody stayed the course and focused on the next point. This is our best and most significant win of the season, explains Stall. “We’ve had a lot of challenges with so many new players, we are excited to see the fruits of our labor come to fruition.”
The women continue their conference play on Friday, October 19 as they travel on the road to take on Cuyamaca College. Game is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m.