The last two seasons, San Bernardino Valley and Mt. San Jacinto Colleges have shared the Inland Empire Athletic Conference championship.
So, when the two teams got together Wednesday to open conference play, even though the teams had undergone major changes from the last two years, there was going to be something on the line.
And after 2 hours and 14 minutes, the emotions on the floor told the story, as San Bernardino Valley rallied from two sets down to defeat Mt. San Jacinto 23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-13.
The Wolverines struggled out of the gate, but they showed resilence early. They found themselves down by as many as 12 points in the first set. But down 17-5, SBVC rallied back, closing the score to 18-15 within two rotations. Then, facing game point at 24-19, SBVC closed to 24-23 before dropping the first set.
After dropping the second set 25-17, the Wolverines found that resilence again with their backs against the wall. Mt. San Jacinto jumped out to a 9-3 lead early in the set. Then, down 16-10, coach Robert Vansant shook things up, replacing Devi'arre Lucas at the service line with Audrey Gallacher. The Wolverines ran off five straight points with her holding serve, closing the score to 16-15. That was the boost the Wolverines needed. On their next service, libero Ava Avila helped SBVC take the lead at 18-17 - it was the first lead SBVC had held since leading 3-1 in the first game. The teams traded points from there, with SBVC finally taking the set 25-23.
SBVC carried that momentum into the fourth set, opening a 10-1 lead after the Wolverines' first two services. The Eagles weren't going down quietly, as they closed it back to 10-6 on their second service of the game. But SBVC continued the attack, and sent the game to a deciding fifth set.
The Eagles opened the final set winning the first three points, but SBVC rallied to tie it at 4. The teams changed sides with MSJC up 8-6, but the side change served the Wolverines well. After tying it at 8, SBVC took control with the game tied at 10. With Emersyn Ebel at the service line, the Wolverines took a 12-10 lead, and the teams traded side outs the rest of the way, giving SBVC the win.
Lucas led the SBVC attack with 21 kills, but it was the defense that held strong for the Wolverines. SBVC had 81 digs in the match - led by Avila's 25 - and the team combined for 13 scoring blocks, with Tamia Hardwick getting credit for 10 block assists and middle blocker Ashlee Zimmer credited with eight assists. Gallacher and Cielo Rodriguez each scored two aces, while Ebel served up 34 assists along with 19 digs.
SBVC will get a week to recover before its next game, as they have a bye on Friday. The Wolverines return to action at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, at Chaffey, before returning home Oct. 15 and 17 against Victor Valley and Cerro Coso, respectively.
