The Mesa College men’s volleyball team, under new head coach David Proffit, suited up against Palomar College in one match of three sets against the Palomar Comets on Feb 13, losing 11-25, 21-24, and 11-25.
The first set started off slow, with a series of misserves from both teams. Serving seemed to be an issue for both teams in every match. Outside hitter Joshua Gonzalez dove to the ground several times and made some notable saves. The final score from the first match was 11-25. The Olympians ended hopeful, with their infamous chant, “1,2,3 MESA!”
In the second set, Mesa stepped up their game. Matthew Hurskey started off strong, earning the first point with a spike. Middle blocker, Jorge Rosado, continually used his height to his advantage to tip the ball over the net, which evened the score on multiple occasions. A misserve by Palomar on the last point gave the crowd hope, but in the end the Olympians came up a mere 4 points short. The game had an ending score of 21-25.
In the third and final set, the boys seemed a bit discouraged, but that didn’t stop them from having some impressive moments. Opposite hitter Jared Lociero had some great blocks, and defense specialist Derek Carver had a few shocking saves. Setter Kean DeLuna had consistently good passes throughout this match, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Olympians to victory. The match ended with the same score as the first, 11-25.
Matthew Hursky made hard hits throughout the match, with a hitting efficiency rating of 0.375. Another impressive player was the libero, David Chau, who played a strong defense throughout the night. He had seven digs himself, and the team overall had 20.
Although they suffered a loss, Coach Proffit is keeping his hopes up about the remainder of the season. They haven’t scored any wins yet, but not for lack of trying.
With this being most players first year on the team, there’s been “a series of growing pains,” says Proffit. However, he says “the team works hard and has great moral. They have made big improvements and (he foresees) more and more improvements in the future.”
The next opportunity to come support the Olympians are Feb. 15th at 6 p.m. and Feb. 22 at 1 p.m.
