Trailing 2-1 to West Hills-Coalinga College on Friday, the Porterville College women's volleyball team rallied back to defeat the host Falcons 3-2 to earn their first Central Valley Conference win of the season.
Winless West Hills (0-7, 0-2 CVC) nearly pulled off the upset to record its first victory of the season. The Falcons shocked the Pirates by taking Set 1 25-23 before Porterville tied up the match with a narrow 26-24 victory in the second. West Hills followed that with a 25-23 win in Set 3 to put the Pirates' backs against the wall.
"I told the team that they either have to decide to win or decide to lose it was up to them," said second-year head coach Holly Franks. "I can only tell them so much but ultimately it's them who do the work and them who reap what they sow."
Porterville responded with a dominating 25-16 win in Set 4 and closed out the conference victory by taking the fifth set 15-11.
Sophomore Shelby Vanasen had a huge match as she led the Pirates with 16 kills and an amazing 9 aces to go along with 12 digs and two blocks. Sophomore Kendyl Estes also played well with 13 kills, and 14 digs.
Sophomore Brando Rico posted 40 assists and 11 digs while sophomore Josie Lopez added 8 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Ashlynn Miller also matched Estes with a team-best 14 digs.
Despite the Pirates' slow start in the match, Franks feels the win will help her squad come out stronger.
"This match was a learning experience for the girls," said Franks. "You cannot go into a match expecting the other team to rollover on you. Go in expecting to win yes, but go in and play like you expect to win. There is a difference between expecting to win and playing like you expect to win. I think that this match definitely taught our girls that difference.
"You have to establish dominance early on in the game," Franks added. "You want to be the team to set the tone for the match and we did not decide to do that until later on in the match."
The Pirates, now 4-7 overall and 1-1 in conference play, look to continue their winning ways on Wednesday (Sep. 21) when they play their third of eight straight matches on the road. Porterville travels to Merced College for a 6 p.m. CVC contest.
