Ladies' defense stellar in sweep

The Santa Monica College Lady Corsair volleyball team secured a much-needed victory against the West L.A. Wildcats on last Friday in a one-sided affair as the SMC squad terrorized the Wildcats in a perfect 3-0 sweep.

The Corsairs won the opening set by a score of 25-2 and won the next two sets by the scores of 25-7 and 25-4 respectively, keeping the contact of the game ball and their side of the court to a surprising minimum.

Freshmen Vivien Reece and Amelia Keeling paved the way in terms of superior blocking from the Corsairs, ensuring that no ball from the Wildcats was able to pass to the other side of the net. Aside from a missed served by SMC at the beginning of the match, the Corsairs didn't relent a single point to the Corsairs at West L.A. first timeout, when the scoreboard yielded an 11-1 difference.

By missing her serve after the timeout, sophomore Kathryn Flanagan allowed the Wildcats to score their second and only other point of this set, permitting the Corsairs to win the first set by the score of 25-2.

It wasn't until freshmen Wildcat hitter Lisa Greene executed a great spike that West L.A. scored their first own point of the game.

The Corsairs made it clear, however, that scoring on them would be a rarity that night. They erased all memories of the hiccup and cracked down to take the set 25-7.

After serving up a similar beat down in the third and final game in which the Corsairs allowed just four points, the Ladies seemed encouraged by the strong performance.

"I think we got better this time," said freshman Meagan Hauser. "We didn't let them pass ten points this time."

Head coach Nicole Ryan's reflection was in accordance with Hauser's.

"We've definitely gotten better and we are trying to get a little bit more sharp," said Ryan.

The Lady Corsairs will be back in action this Friday at Bakersfield as they look to capitalize on the momentum of the recent victory.