Aztecs volleyball falls to Arizona Western College in four sets

The Pima Community College volleyball team (11-9, 6-4 in ACCAC) took an early advantage on Friday in its match against Arizona Western College (12-5, 6-1) but the Aztecs dropped three straight sets in the end.

• The Aztecs fell to the Matadors in four sets 25-27, 25-13, 25-20, 28-26 at the West Campus Aztec Gymnasium.
• The Aztecs and the Matadors went back and forth in the first set. Pima took an 18-17 lead after sophomore Andrea Vigil-German (Ironwood Ridge HS) put down a kill forcing Arizona Western to call timeout. The Matadors scored five straight points to take a 22-18 lead. The Aztecs trailed 24-20 but rallied after some Arizona Western miscues. Sophomore Isabella Jacome's ace put Pima up 25-24. The Matadors tied it at 25-25 but sophomore Deanna Almaguer had two straight kills to give Pima the win in the first set.
• The Matadors led the entire second set and ran away with the game to tie the match at 1-1. In the third set, the Aztecs trailed 8-2 but scored six straight points to tie it at 8-8. Down 18-17, the Aztecs gave up four straight points to trail 22-17. The Aztecs couldn't close the gap and the Matadors took a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The fourth set featured 15 ties and eight lead changes. The biggest lead of the set was held by the Aztecs at 7-4. Down 24-23, the Aztecs turned to sophomore Kaylee Moseley (Marana HS), who tied it with her kill. Sophomore Jessica Bright-Schade (Safford HS) put the Aztecs up 25-24 with her kill forcing the Matadors to call timeout. Arizona Western tied it and took the advantage at 26-25. The Aztecs tied it at 26-26 with another kill by Moseley but the Matadors ended it with two straight points.
• Moseley finished the match with a team-high 13 kills along with two blocks. Vigil-German posted a double-double of 10 kills and 16 digs while Almaguer had eight kills and five blocks.
• Sophomore Karla Soto (Nogales HS) finished with 17 assists and two aces and Jacome fell short of a double-double with 13 assists and eight digs to go with three aces. Sophomore Aydalis Felix (Rincon HS) had 21 digs.

The Aztecs play at Phoenix College on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.