Photo Credit: Andre Doty
Posted: Nov 14, 2024
Nearing the end of the regular season, the Vaqs were hit with making up 2 rescheduled matches on top of their regularly scheduled matches. On Saturday they travelled to Bakersfield and never could quite find their rhythm in the 1-3 set loss (25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21).
Coach Niksto said, "It was a long day, after an already long week, but we also don't make excuses and I was disappointed in our performance on the court." The Vaqs were led offensively by Tana Long (13 kills) and Kaylin Cooney (8 kills), and defensively by Valeria Bellodas (23 digs) and Natalie Lercari-Sullivan (14 digs, 39 assists).
Then just a few days later, the Vaqs were back on the road the following Tuesday to face cross town rivals Ventura in their second makeup match. Once again, the Vaqs dropped the match 1-3 by the scores of 25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 25-12).
Coach Niksto said, "I was proud of our fight in the match tonight. We played significantly better than we did a few days ago. We still have some areas we need to improve on, but given our current schedule and injuries/illnesses, I am happy with the product we put out on the court." Kaylin Cooney had a monster night, setting a career high with 23 kills while hitting .319%. Sophomore setter Natalie Lercari-Sullivan had 48 assists on the evening, putting her over the 1,000 career assists mark! "It was fun to get to celebrate such a great milestone for Natalie! And Kaylin was just unstoppable!" remarked Coach Niksto.
The week doesn't get any easier for the Vaqs who have their final two regular conference matches, Wednesday on the road (again!) at LA Pierce, and then at home Friday vs Allan Hanock for Sophomore Night! Come out and support your Vaqueros!
