Fresh off a thrilling five set victory over Yuba College, COM Volleyball took their talents to Napa on Wednesday in what turned out to be another exciting match. Marin went the distance with the home team before grabbing the deciding set by a score of 15-8.
It was a difficult beginning for the Mariners who competed for the first time without libero Alexa Honsberger. Francis Marin stepped into the libero role for the first time this year and did an excellent job with eight digs on the day. The Mariners fell behind 18-10 in the first set and rallied but were unable to overcome Napa who took the set by a score of 25-23.
Marin bounced back in the second set with a 25-21 win, and following it up with an impressive third set win by a score of 25-15. The Mariners appeared ready to roll through Napa in the fourth set, but were undone by a number of unforced errors. Their follies allowed the home team to tie the match up at two sets a piece with a 25-16 fourth set win.
The Mariners switched up their strategy in the fifth set, moving Emma Harris to libero. The results were more than positive as the Mariners rolled through Napa 15-8 in the final set.
The win pushed the team's record to 3-1 in conference and 7-6 overall. The Mariners sit in second place in the Bay Valley Conference behind Solano College.
Alejandra Leon led the team with 12 kills and added two aces and a pair of digs. Sarah Harris filled up the stat sheet with 30 assists, seven kills, three aces and eight digs. Emma Harris had 12 digs, six kills and six aces while playing all over the floor.
"It was a hard fought battle between two evenly matched teams. Both Francis Marin and Emma Harris stepped into the libero jersey. Hats off to the girls for pushing through adversity and our new identity as a team," said Assistant Coach Olivia Urban.
Next up for Marin is a home match against Los Medanos College on Friday, September 29th.