Almaguer has 17 kills while Jacome and Bright-Schade post double-doubles as Volleyball downs Mesa CC

The Pima Community College volleyball team (6-16, 3-9 in ACCAC) got back in the win column on Wednesday against Mesa Community College (5-10, 4-8).

• The Aztecs snapped a five-match losing streak after beating the Thunderbirds in four games (25-19, 18-25, 25-22, 25-20).
• The Aztecs found themselves trailing 10-5 in the first set but rallied off the next 13 of 16 points to take a five-point lead of their own at 18-13. Sophomores Isabel Hansen (Rincon HS) and Deanna Almaguer each had three kills during that stretch. The Thunderbirds cut it to a three-point lead at 19-16 but kills from Hansen, sophomore Jessica Bright-Schade (Safford HS) and sophomore Isabella Jacome helped Pima widened the lead and take the first set.
• With the exception of one tie, the Aztecs trailed the entire second set and were down by as much as 10 points. Trailing 22-12, the Aztecs cut the deficit in half at 22-17 with kills from Jacome, Hansen and Almaguer but the Thunderbirds regrouped after a timeout and tied the match at 1-1.
• The Aztecs fell behind 10-2 in the early stages in the third set but progressively began to rally as they took 12 of the following 16 points to tie the game at 14-14. The Aztecs scored ties six times to follow but couldn't take the lead. Sophomore Haley Duncan (Walden Grove HS) put the Aztecs ahead 22-21 for their first lead of the set and Jacome's ace made it 23-21. Duncan set up set-point with her kill and she and freshman Christina Shaffer (Pusch Ridge Christian HS) made a play at the net to put Pima up 2-1 in the match.
• The Aztecs held the advantage for much of the fourth set and led by as much as seven points at 23-16. Mesa scored the next two points but Hansen's kill halted the rally. Almaguer had the final kill to seal the win.
• Almaguer led the Aztecs with a team-high 17 kills along to go along with six digs. Hansen finished with 12 kills and four blocks.
• Jacome and Bright-Schade each finished with double-doubles as Jacome closed out the match with 55 assists and 16 digs along with four kills, two aces and a block while Bright-Schade had 12 kills and 21 digs.
• Freshman Morgan Hains (Canyon del Oro HS) was a force on defense as the libero had 40 digs and also two aces. Duncan finished with nine kills and four blocks.

The Aztecs will be back on the road on Friday when they play at Phoenix College. The match is set to start at 7:00 p.m.