De Anza’s women’s volleyball team strut its dominance with a commanding 3-0 victory against San Jose City College on Wednesday, Oct. 8, to mark its fourth consecutive shutout — De Anza holds a season record of 11-9.
The Mountain Lions came out strong with their aggressive play to take the first set 25-10. Despite an early 5-9 deficit, the team would still get the second set 25-16 and finish the game strong with a 25-10 final.
“We’re starting to gel as a team,” head coach Dawnis Guevara said. “(We’re) getting more connected with tempo on our sets and working together.”
The continuity on the floor led to a total of 44 kills (points) in the outing.
The duo on the net — middle blocker Brianna Dalzochio (De Anza, No. 10), 19, child development major, and right side hitter Ayla Cakisic (De Anza, No. 1), 19, biology major — combined for 24 kills.
“They (Dalzochio and Cakisic) have been consistent for us throughout the season,” Guevara said. “I expect a lot out of them, and they’re producing for us.”
Critical serves from setter Ava Hudnut (De Anza, No. 13) in the second set helped the Mountain Lions gain control and pull away.
Guevara said she was “super happy to see” Hudnut’s serves; she also said the team has been working on serving all year to put pressure on opposing teams.
“We missed a lot in our first set tonight (six service errors), so we just talked about locking in,” Guevara said. “To get the first one under your belt and then get a rhythm.”
Nonetheless, De Anza recorded an impressive 14 aces (serve points) on the day, six coming from the finishing set.
The win marks the team’s ninth sweep of the season, more than double last season’s total of four.
This game also marked the second game with pink jerseys for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, worn by libero CC Bonnard (De Anza, No. 11).
De Anza will play Monterey Peninsula College at home next on Oct. 15, at 5 p.m. The team will host a Dig Pink campaign to raise funds for breast cancer awareness during its home game against Gavilan College on Oct. 24.
“We can definitely get a heck of a lot better. So I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks,” Guevara said.
