FINAL STATS: CUESTA | LOS MEDANOS | SHASTA | COSUMNES RIVER
TAFT, CA – The Lady Cougars of Taft College Volleyball are currently riding a six-game win streak. Their last 3 games home and away are just some of the recent smiles Head Coach Mallori Rossi is displaying. In their home opener on Tuesday, September 5th, Taft College hosted both Cuesta College and Los Medanos College in the Taft Tri Classic. Coach Rossi shared her comments after the season's first home game, "Our Cougar Volleyball team has grown so much in such a short amount of time. Today we were able to see all of that hard work pay off as we competed at a high level for both matches. We have traveled a lot this preseason, so it was so exciting to be back in our gym, playing in front of the best fans!"
Taft challenged the Cuesta College Cougars first. TC started the match off strong, taking the first set 25-13. However, Cuesta came from behind and took the second set 11-25. Taft sparked both their offense and defense, allowing them to take sets 3 and 4 to finish the match (25-18, 25-11).
As for the second game, the Cougars made it clear that they meant business. Taft came out on top as they took all three sets against Los Medanos College (25-15, 25-11, 25-19).
The next day, on September 6, the Cougars traveled to Sacramento, CA to compete in the Cosumnes River Triangular. They played Shasta College and Consumnes River College.
In the first match, Shasta College came out strong, as they took the first and second sets. But the Cougars switched gears and fought hard to earn the third, fourth, and fifth sets, in a reverse sweep win over Shasta (20-25, 16-25, 25-17, 25-9, 15-9).
For the second match, Taft used their momentum from the previous match to take the first set from Cosumnes River College. However, the CRC Hawks came from behind and took the second and third sets. The Cougars were determined to win, as they pushed back and took the match to five sets and came out on top (25-20, 19-25, 14-25, 25-22, 15-13).
Coach Rossi shared her remarks, "I am so proud of our team for the hard-fought wins we got on the road today. Going to five sets back-to-back is never easy, but to be able to come back and win a match after being down two sets is truly remarkable. It shows a great amount of perseverance and passion. The bench helped provide much needed energy and those on the court never gave up. It was a team effort. The team chemistry is really starting to become more consistent and more powerful. The bond and trust we have created with one another is what helped us switch things into gear."
Taft College will be on the road again, Friday, September 8, heading to Monterey, CA. The Cougars are set to challenge Monterey Peninsula College at 12:00 pm, and Lassen Community College at 4:00 pm.
TC Volleyball is currently 7-3 on the season. Their next home game is next Wednesday, September 13, when they open up with conference action against Columbia College at 5:00 pm in the Al Baldock Cougar Sports Center.