Aztecs volleyball hang tough to top Chandler-Gilbert CC

The Pima Community College volleyball team (4-7, 2-1 in ACCAC) found itself in a tight match all night against Chandler-Gilbert Community College (2-10, 0-4) on Wednesday at the West Campus Gymnasium.

The Aztecs protected home court to beat the Coyotes in four sets (25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 25-22).

With the match tied at 1-1, the Aztecs fell behind 8-5 in the third set but rallied off eight straight points to take a 13-8 lead. The Coyotes responded to tie it at 13-13 and the teams traded points with five ties. The Coyotes took a 23-21 lead which forced the Aztecs to call timeout. Freshman Kaitlin Schmich (Mountain View HS) had a kill and the Coyotes had three straight miscues which gave the Aztecs the win and the momentum.

In the fourth set, the Aztecs went up 11-8 and rallied off six straight points as sophomore Victoria Davis (Sahuaro HS) had two kills and fellow sophomore Kayli Riesgo (Cienega HS) had two aces. The Coyotes closed the gap to 22-20 and again at 23-21. Sophomore Gianni Romero (Sahuaro HS) had three digs to keep the volley alive and the Aztecs won the crucial point to make it 24-21. Davis put away the final kill to give the Aztecs the win.

Davis finished with 25 kills, 23 digs and an ace while Schmich had 11 kills, 16 digs and three blocks. Riesgo posted 42 assists, 11 digs and two aces. Sophomore Anissa Conrad (Sahuaro HS) finished with 41 digs and Romero had 29 digs. Freshman Lyrica Tavesi (Pima HS) had six kills.

The Aztecs hit the road for five straight matches. They'll play at South Mountain Community College on Friday at 7:00 p.m.