After a season of no wins, San Diego Mesa Men’s Volleyball took on the San Diego Miramar Jets Wednesday night, March 13 in the Mesa College gymnasium. Both teams have struggled this season and seemed desperate to pull out a win which made for a very tense matchup right out of the gate. It was an interesting match, but in the end, the Jets flew home with the win.
Each team began the first set fired up and energetic. For the first half Mesa and Miramar went back and forth, point for point, and blow for blow. Neither team was able to pull ahead until Mesa served two aces which immediately resulted in an easy two points for the Miramar Jets. Miramar was able to use this momentum to go on a 4-point run putting them one point away from finishing the first set with a win. The Mesa Olympians tried rallying to make a late comeback by working their way back within three points by putting together a string of great assists and kill shots. However, the rally seemed to come a bit to late after Miramar was able to protect the net and block a kill to finish them off 25-22.
After a close first set Miramar came out in the second on fire. The Jets were able to put Mesa and the Olympians in the hole early by putting together a 15-6 run right out of the gate. Mesa seemed to adjust their game plan accordingly which brought them back within four points. Shortly after, Miramar put the pedal to the metal by performing a series of four magnificent kills which seemed to literally kill the Olympians’ momentum. At 22-14 with Miramar ahead, each team traded point for point until the Jets ended it, winning 25-17 in a rather lopsided victory in set two.
Going into the third, Mesa felt like they had to make a statement. The Olympians appeared to control the net and put together some blocks reinforcing their presence on the floor. Early miscommunication sent Miramar back to the drawing board as the team began struggling against Mesa’s great defensive display. Miramar did end up finding the answer it needed just in time to get back into rhythm by utilizing their impressive chemistry and athleticism in order to fight back and remain on the offensive side of the ball. After tying it up at 22 the Jets scored three straight points to clinch the 3-0 victory over San Diego Mesa’s Olympians.
After the match Miramar head coach John Landicho offered what looked to be words of inspiration to the fallen Mesa Olympians privately in a huddle. The team has yet to win a single set this season and appeared to be observant and appreciative while listening to Landicho’s advice. Shortly after, head coach of San Diego Mesa, David Profitt exchanged a hug and a handshake with Landicho as a way of saying thank you in a great display of sportsmanship.
The Olympians downfall came in the form of their serving. They often found themselves falling behind due to the amount of aces being served and you couldn’t help but wonder how much the outcome would have changed if they were able to get the ball over the net consistently. At now 0-12, Mesa College sits with six more matches remaining and hopes to string together at least a couple wins before the end of the season. Here’s to hoping they are able to turn it around.
