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2008
By GREG WAGNER
Valley Press Staff Writer
So the Antelope Valley College volleyball team made sure it didn't let Monday's match hit the fifth set, pulling away from Citrus for a 25-18, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20 victory at Marauder Gym.
Freshman outside hitter Paige Hobson was right in the center of that final victory, recording five of her eight kills in the clincher and providing stringent defense at the net.
"I definitely stepped it up because I was upset from the third (set)," she said. "We said 'We're not losing this one.'"
The Marauders (1-2) played their most complete match of the young season, though hit a speed bump in the final stages of the third set.
After scoring three straight points to gain a 20-17 advantage, AVC was called for an improper rotation, with confusion on to who was to take the next serve after it recorded its 21st point. Instead, the foul took away that point, gave it to Citrus (0-3) and enabled the Fighting Owls to eventually win the game.
"We should have wrapped it up in the third, but it shows you can't make mistakes at the end," Marauders coach Jane Cwayna said.
Cwayna, though, was pleased that her team improved its passing from its two losses. AVC mostly set up Paige and Kahli Remy, who led the team with 10 kills and posted a team-high 17 digs.
Remy also had an impact while serving, using a soft touch to find the holes in the front of Citrus' defense. Even though her serve possessed little firepower, the freshman had six aces.
And that was just fine with Cwayna.
"You look for the holes so you want to drop it in," she said.
Teammate Priscilla Hall, who had four kills and two blocks, agreed.
"She kind of dominates at that," Hall said.
Remy was serving during several of the Marauders' best spurts, including a stretch of eight unanswered points that pushed AVC to a lead in the third set before they were hurt by the rotation error, which was the second the Marauders were called for on Monday.
AVC had a couple remarkable plays in the victory. The first came in the second set, when Remy laid out for a dig that hit setter Ashley Marroquin, who wasn't ready for a pass.
The ball glanced off Marroquin over the net and landed on the ground on Citrus' side for a point.
Later on, libero Nicole Moran essentially one-handed a dig while she was tumbling over and not even looking at the ball, a defensive play that popped the ball over the net and eventually scored the Marauders an early point in the final set.
"We really proved we wanted to win," Hall said.
The Marauders also said they were spurred on by playing in front of friends and family at what was a majority of the team's first-ever contest in Marauder Gym.
"We did not want to lose on our own court," Hobson said.
