Marin's young volleyballers showed no fear in their season opener on Wednesday. A starting lineup featuring just one sophomore shined against Skyline College in a 3-0 victory. Drake High School's Remy Pelzman excelled as the starting outside hitter recording 16.5 points and nine digs on the night.
Marin cruised through the first set with a 25-13 victory but things got much more difficult as the match progressed. The Mariners experienced a few jitters in the second set as they trailed 11-10 and 21-19. A timeout showed their resolve as Marin reeled off three straight points to take the lead before finishing off the Trojans 25-22.
The third set saw Marin fall down 13-6 before pulling within a pair at 23-21. Marin forced match point at 25-24 but could not close it out and fell down 27-26. They did not crumble but instead grew stronger to record three straight points to take the set 29-27 and the match.
Marin played just seven as sophomore libero Magnolia Johnson was out due to an injury. Freshman Jade Williams filled in admirably with 17 digs and three assists on the evening. Pelzman recorded 10 kills, five aces and 1.5 blocks on the game while Freshman setter Makenzie Dugan had 20 assists and 14 digs.
The Mariners hit .037 on the game with 26 kills and 22 errors on 108 total attacks. They were suburb on the serve with 14 aces and they were active on the net with six total blocks.
Despite the nail-biting affair, it is clear the Mariners have a great deal of young talent.
The newly minted Mariners play next at Sierra College on Wednesday, September 4th. They will play a double header against Shasta and Sierra Colleges.
