Gavilan College's women's volleyball team split its first two matches of the season, both ending in four games.
After falling to Feather River College on Aug. 29 (26-24, 25-11, 19-25, 29-27), the Lady Rams rebounded with a win over Monterey Peninsula College on Wednesday: 26-24, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23.
Led by Hollister native Bri Romero (17 kills, 10 digs) and returning sophomore Teresa Hodges (12 kills), Gavilan was able to pull out a very close match with MPC for its first notch in the victory column. The Rams' assists leader was Jamie Skocko with 26, while Nicole Falcao recorded 22 digs as the team's libero.
Both teams were carried by their offense, said coach Kevin Kramer.
"Set one was a back and forth game," he said. "Set two, Monterey went up 8-1 and never looked back."
The third set was all Gavilan, which propelled the club just enough for a two-point victory in the fourth game after leading 20-15 at one point.
While the Lady Rams received several solid performances against Feather River - Teresa Hodges had 10 kills, Arica Hernandez had 10 kills, Bri Romero had 9 kills and 20 digs, and Jamie Skocko had 25 assists - they couldn't hold off a late charge in the fourth game after leading 20-10.
Kramer predicted a tough test in the opener, but showing an ability to take such a large lead over a tall and athletic squad such FRC would bode well for the Lady Rams, as long as they can learn to close out games like they did against MPC.
Gavilan's coach added he was very impressed with the efforts of Romero and Hodges, particularly in the FRC contest.
"Teresa Hodges and Bri Romero were unstoppable from the outside," Kramer said.
Gavilan's next matches will take place today, Friday, at the Modesto Classic.
Josh Koehn Josh Koehn is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at: jkoehn@svnewspapers.com.
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