New volleyball season off to a strong start

By Taylor Clayton
The Guardsman

City College women’s volleyball team finished last year with a 16-12(7-3) record, failing to make the playoffs. This year’s team however is looking to put last years woes behind them.

Head Coach Saga Vae is heading into another season and said his team is much improved in all areas, especially on defense.

Sophomore Crystal Lee, who was first team all conference last year, talked about this years team compared to last year.

“Skill and strength wise we are a better team then last year,” she said. “The team coming together will basically determine how well we do.”

Team chemistry is an extremely important aspect in a good team and Lee feels confident in her teams development from what she has seen since the preseason began.

“Since summer we picked up some new girls and have been improving,” Lee said. “We did really well for our first time playing together.”

Freshman Roschelle Buenaflor, from Burton High School, talked about the first couple of games she has experienced in her college career.

“It’s not as hard as I thought it would be,” she said. “The competitiveness is where you see the
difference, but after awhile you get used to it.”

City College had gone 4-1 so far in the preseason heading into the Golden Gate Classic held at the Wellness Center on Sept. 3.

The Classic consisted of two opponents for the Rams with their first match defeating Feather River College, 25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-11.

Sophomore Romona Vae controlled the net with her blocks and kills while Lee and Sophomore Nicole Yap, a transfer from San Francisco State, displayed some textbook outside hitting.

They handled their second match quite easily sweeping Laney College 25-15, 25-13, 25-5.

Coach Vae talked about his teams success after the Classic.

“As a team we played consistently, not letting our mistakes get us down,” he said. “After the tough schedule we had this week we went 6-1 playing some of the top ranked teams in the country.”

The team has one more preseason tournament at San Jose City College Sept. 23-24 before conference play begins at Ohlone College on Sept. 28.