Artemis ShmuelThe Santa Ana Don’s beach volleyball team suffered a series of defeats on Friday, losing all five of their matches against the Irvine Valley Lasers. The disappointing performances extend their losing streak to six consecutive losses.
The Lasers’ exceptional performance started with their communication. Right before serving, the players were making hand symbols behind their backs, which seemed to inform the team of the Dons’ plays.
SAC players also tried to communicate, but it was not enough for players Cydelle Sánchez and Xóchitl Zaragoza, who lost two out of three possible sets, losing the first match for SAC and setting up a disappointing rhythm for the other matches.
The second match, involving SAC players Lyric Birdsong and Katelyn Garcia, had the most back-and-forth but the Dons still came up short. The duo was holding their own, maintaining a 5-5 and soon after a 6-6 score, when IVC narrowly scored through a bad shot. The ball was poorly aimed and hit the net, but managed to tip over. Garcia dove to reach the ball, but was not fast enough.
“We did good on communicating, a lot of hustling and made sure we were both motivated,” said Zaragoza.
The Lasers earned a slight lead with that shot, getting to 9-6. However, the Dons fought back with heart, leveling the score to 9-9. The Lasers managed to score again after Birdsong leapt forward, narrowly missing the ball.
The final score was 22-15, with IVC claiming the victory.
“There’s tons of things that they know they can do better,” said head coach Cole Tran. He stressed that the athletes will be “perfecting skills in practice.” “I’m hoping we can turn this season around,” Tran added. “We’ve had some hardships.”
Santa Ana will play against Cypress and Fullerton College on Friday, March 20.
