Comets win two conference games in season

Volleyball team drops season after winning Laney College tournament

Comet+outside+hitter+Rachelle+Cuevas+%28left%29+spikes+the+ball+past+Cougar+middle+blocker+Nadia+Bedard+%28right%29+during+CCC%E2%80%99s+loss+to+College+of+Alameda+in+the+Gymnasium+on+Oct.+24%2C+2014.

Qing Huang / The Advocate

Comet outside hitter Rachelle Cuevas (left) spikes the ball past Cougar middle blocker Nadia Bedard (right) during CCC’s loss to College of Alameda in the Gymnasium on Oct. 24, 2014.

By Jose Jimenez, Spotlight Editor

The volleyball team finished 2-12 in the Bay Valley Conference (BVC), and 4-15 overall, finishing seventh, and ahead of Laney College in the conference.

It was volleyball coach Zach Shrieve’s fifth consecutive losing season, and only Laney College (0-14 in the BVC), finished with a worse record in the league.

The Comets lost their last three games and were 1-9 in their final 10 games.

CCC went 1-6 at home and began the season with a 2-2 record, beating College of the Redwoods (0-10 in the Golden Valley Conference) and San Jose City College (0-12 in the Coast-North Conference).

“We improved every week,” Shrieve said. “Overall, we had a great scholastic year and won the Laney tournament. We have three commitments so far and seven ‘maybes,’ so we will be ready for next season.”

The other two victories for CCC came against hapless Laney, and the Comets picked up their only road win in the process by defeating the Eagles in Oakland on Oct. 1.

The volleyball team ranked in the bottom 10 in the state in every major statistical category: kills, kills per set, digs, digs per set, hitting percentage, blocks per set, service aces per set and assists per set.

“I think the season had a lot of material for growth for players as individuals,” middle blocker Valeria Avila said. “We were able to fight in each match with the best of them.”

In retrospect, the final game of the season proved CCC had the “fight” in them all along, and should solidify what they will attempt to accomplish next season.

The game against College of Marin (6-8 in the BVC, 8-13 overall), was the only five-set match the squad played over the entire season.

The Comets proved they could hang with at least the sub-.500 teams, and come up with more wins in the BVC.

“With every game we really tried,” setter Richelle Ledesma said. “The stats won’t prove it, but we fought every game.”

Other than that moral victory against Mariners, however, fans were left asking who should the volleyball team be more proud of defeating — winless SJCC or College of the Redwoods, or BVC last place  team Laney twice?