Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
The Cerro Coso volleyball program hosted Victor Valley in an Inland Empire Conference match with the Coyotes looking for the program's first win of the season and conference since returning to the court. At the end of four hard fought sets, the Coyotes fell to the Rams 25-20, 17-25, 16-25, 15-25.
"I thought they played with a lot of energy today. It's very different because they came out with a new coach that they never seen before or met before," said interim coach Kim Young. "I have only played with one other person. They did a good job and I'm proud of them. They never gave up and they did the best they could in the circumstance they had. I think winning the first set was a huge morale boost for them."
The Coyotes offense finished with 42 kills led by Maddie Meinert with 18 kills and Zoe Czaja with 14 kills, but had 23 errors. They had 38 assists with 28 coming from Imani Parker. In the serving department, the Coyotes had three aces and 11 serving errors.
The Coyotes took the first set in a game that saw plenty of long rallies and both teams trying to find the best chance for their outside hitters. Cerro Coso jumped out to an early 3-1 lead but the Rams stormed back and tied the set at 6-6. Both teams traded points going forward with each point being won on a long rally that ended with the ball being hit into the net or out of bounds. The set stayed tied at 13-13 with the home team getting kills form Czaja, Michelle Vicuna, and Meinert.
With the set tied at 13-13, Victor Valley went on a three-point run and was able to keep it forcing Young to call a time out with the Coyotes trailing 19-16. Czaja scored on a kill out of the time out and with Parker serving, the Coyotes went on a 5-1 run to take a 22-20 lead. The home team closed the set with back-to-back kills from Meinert and Beauleah Farmer.
In the second, third, and fourth sets the Coyotes put up a valiant effort in trying to win their first game. The sets all had long rallies but the Coyotes offense struggled at times and still had a few miscommunications on the court. The young squad of all freshmen gave the Rams a fight as best they could, but the visitors were a mix of freshmen and sophomores, which titled the sets in their favor. But the Coyotes had moments of showing their talent from being able to find their hitters, making diving saves to keep rallies alive, and the hustle to follow a ball that wasn't well controlled. The interim coach spoke on what she hopes to see from the team as the season continues.
"I think just being more aggressive. My motto is to be incredibly relentless on defense, so I think that is what I would like to see them pursue the ball on defense," Young said.
The Coyotes continued Inland Empire Conference play with a road game to Copper Mountain on Friday. They return home to host San Bernardino Valley on Friday, October 20th. Both games begin at 5 p.m.