Samantha Meyers
Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The PJC volleyball team brought in a full house on Sept. 16. All of the PJC sports teams including baseball, softball, and basketball made an appearance in blue and green to support the volleyball team’s first conference match-up of the season against Gulf Coast Community College. It was a tight match, but PJC ended up on top winning the match 3-2 in five fast games. Coming off some tough matches in the World Ford Volleyball Classic last weekend, this was a successful achievement for the Lady Pirates.
“There was an early-on pressure to please the crowd, but there is no doubt that the crowd helped during the game and the end of the match, when the team needed a little extra energy. It was the best atmosphere I’ve seen in my 11 years of coaching,” said Head Coach Pete Pena.
During the first game, Gulf Coast Community College started off with impressive returns and double blocks. PJC caught up to 22-all, but the team could not seem to score with GCCC blocking every hit. Gulf Coast won the first game 25-22.
PJC came back in game two with 11 consecutive points scored by sophomore hitter Dayne Ramsey. Kali Pringle scored the final point, which resulted in a win for the Pirates, 25-13.
Both teams had a win before the third game, but only one could come out on top. The PJC Pirates held their composure, and won the game with a power kill from Ramsey. It was Ramsey’s night, as she made several powerful hits during the match, which helped the team’s outcome.
Gulf Coast was not ready to give up by game four. The team strived to make every hit possible, while PJC was making a few mistakes. The game moved rather quickly, while the teams battled it out for the win. Gulf Coast achieved victory with a strike into the corner of the court 25-23.
The crowd was anticipating the final game of the match. PJC scored the first point with a serve from Kelsi New. The entire game stayed close; as one team scored a point, the other would answer back. During a time-out, the crowd performed a wave to lighten the tension. As the game came to an end, the points were tied, but the winners would need a two point lead to end it. Luckily, PJC pulled out the win 17-15.
The win sent all of PJC’s athletes in the stands out onto the court to congratulate the Lady Pirates. What a sight!