Lady Ranger volleyball got all it could handle from the Palo Alto College Lady Palominos in a 3-2 win Oct. 23; the Lady Rangers won the last two games of the match.
The team made a killing out of coming back to win and protecting small leads. Every time Palo Alto trimmed the Lady Ranger lead to 1 point, the Lady Rangers went ahead by at least 5 points in a 25-20 Game 1 win.
In Game 4, also a 25-20 win, the Lady Rangers scored the game's last 4 points.
Psychology freshman Monique Martin said while her team can use comebacks to their advantage, they should stay out of such situations.
"All we do is communicate; we try to talk," Martin said. "We should never be down in the first place, but we fight back pretty well."
In previous matches, the Lady Rangers went on several tears of 8 or more points, but did not score more than 8 consecutive points against Palo Alto.
The players initially struggled in defending near the back end of the court, often committing errors or allowing shots to fall in the backcourt area after communication breakdowns.
The team faced another difficulty from the officials, as it seemed each questionable out-of-bounds call went in Palo Alto's favor.
Martin said the partial calls could have come from the official who previously served as a Palomino's volleyball assistant coach.
"It doesn't matter because we beat them, but it's a little unfair that they allowed her to ref the game," Martin said. "They have history behind our opponent."
The Lady Rangers' fortune changed in Game 5.
With the score 11-6, a Lady Ranger shot went over the net and out of bounds; the officials initially awarded the point to Palo Alto but reversed the call after the Lady Rangers pointed out that the Lady Palominos tipped the ball before it went out.
But the match's most important 50/50 call favored the Lady Rangers.
With the Lady Rangers leading the fifth game 13-11, liberal arts freshman Sarah DeGrassi went to the net for a spike that landed almost exactly on the left baseline. After a brief pause, the Lady Rangers received the point and took game five 15-12.
Even in the hard times the games brought, the players remained optimistic as they continued to smile and laugh with one another regardless of the score.
Martin said team camaraderie is a key to the team's success.
"If we can't communicate as a team and have fun, we're not going to play well at all," Martin said.
Lady Ranger volleyball next enters a home match against Victoria College at 7 p.m. Thursday.
For more information, call 733-2680.
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