2023-2024 Laramie County Community College Volleyball team
The Laramie County Community College volleyball team picked up another split of their matches on Saturday at the New Mexico Military Institute Classic, sweeping Vernon College 25-, 25-, 25-, before falling to #13 Eastern Arizona College in four sets 25-27, 25-23, 25-23, 25-14.
LCCC 3, Veron College 0 – 25-22, 25-20, 25-11
The Golden Eagles started off in a battle with Vernon but were able to compose themselves after trailing 9-4 to rally and take the lead 14-13. The next break came when LCCC expanded the advantage to 22-17, but Vernon rallied once again to get within one before falling 25-22.
"It was disappointing that we started so slow. It was morning and we played last night but we just came out a little sloppy and couldn't control the serving and passing game, but once we started doing that, we started controlling the game overall," Head Coach Zach Shaver said.
The second set started similarly to the first but the quick beginning for Vernon was stifled after only a 6-3 run. The Golden Eagles rallied to win the next five points to take the 8-6 lead and the match settled into a seesaw affair.
LCCC picked up the pace at 18-16 and would finish the set on a 7-4 run to move up 2-0 on the Chaps.
The slow starts were over for Laramie County in the third set when they jumped out to a 15-4 lead out of the gate to put Vernon on their heels. The set and match became a simple matter of mathematics after that and the Golden Eagles moved to 2-1 on the season with the 25-11 set win.
"The other team was struggling a little bit and had to make some substitutions because of injuries," Shaver explained about the third set. "But we just served aggressively in the right areas and that made it look easier than it was."
LCCC 1, #13 Eastern Arizona 3 – 25-27, 25-23, 25-23, 25-14
The opening set was a nail biter from start to finish. Neither team was able to gain any advantage bigger than two points and it was a late push from LCCC that gave them the win in extra points 27-25.
"We got them out of system at the end and we served well to win," Shaver said. "I think we really carried that momentum into set two."
The Golden Eagles were able to build a 14-8 lead to take early control of the second set. The Gila Monsters showed their resolve and battled back slowly though, taking the lead at 22-21 before they finished the come back 25-23.
"They called a timeout when we were up seven and I told our girls, 'Now it's going to get tough'", Shaver said. "In college volleyball, once a team gets down this much they play better because they have nothing to lose. It's actually harder to hold onto the lead and that came true."
Set three was a near mirror image of set two. Laramie County again built a six point lead 17-11 before Eastern Arizona rallied back to take the lead after tying it at 21, winning by the same 25-23 score and going up 2-1 in the match.
Laramie County stood strong through the first 16 points of the fourth set with the match on the line. Tied at eight, the Gila Monsters went on a 17-4 run to shut down the Golden Eagles for good and win the set and match.
"They were a more experienced team. A lot of those players were at nationals last year. That's something we're going to learn from going into our next match."
The Golden Eagles wrap up their tournament with a 2-2 record after splitting with Pima Community College and #8 NMMI on Friday. The team will be back in action on Tuesday when they host Lamar Community College in the home opener. It will be Military Appreciation Night, with opening serve scheduled for 7:00 pm at Storey Gymnasium. Tickets can be purchased online at www.golccc.com/tickets.