PARENTAL GUIDANCE

The volleyball match is not going Pierce College’s way, which is nothing unusual, so it’s time for Tanya Sweet to start playing mental games.

She reaches into her bag of sports psychology and calls for. . . her mommy.

If opponents haven’t fallen down laughing, they’re soon getting felled by Sweet’s mother, and teammate, Marla Rossi.

Rossi, a 40-year-old mother of four, is nearly twice the age of any other Brahma--she is 12 years older than Coach Nabil Mardini--but father time hasn’t slowed her down.

What started as an innocent query last year from Sweet--”Coach, can my mom practice with us?”--has turned into quite a find for Pierce. And possibly the nation’s only mother and daughter on a college team.

“It’s kind of weird,” said Sweet, a 21-year-old sophomore. “It’s kind of cool because a lot of players wish their moms would come out and play with them. Mine does.”

Does she ever.

Rossi, who has a solid volleyball background, didn’t arrive from the picnic circuit. She has been an active participant in coed leagues for several years.

At Reseda High, where she graduated in 1976, Rossi was selected to the junior national team. She was offered a partial scholarship by University of San Diego but turned it down.

It wasn’t surprising that Pierce coaches, unaware of Rossi’s experience but fully aware of her age, had the same reaction when Sweet asked if her mother could practice.

“We thought she was joking,” said Mardini, an assistant at the time. “We thought it would never happen.”

It did. And jaws dropped.

It was too late for Rossi to join the team last year because school had started but plans were made for her to join the team this season.

“When I first saw her, I said, ‘That’s 20 years of competition in her,’ ” Mardini said. “In practice, you can see it and feel it. You can tell she always wanted to play. She’s doing stuff you could not imagine for a 40-year-old. She’s doing everything [the other players do].”

Rossi is playing so well, she’s being used for psychological warfare. To unnerve opponents, Sweet, herself a capable player, makes a point of using the word “Mom” during matches. “Nice block, Mom. Nice hit, Mom.”

It’s a jab aimed directly at Pierce’s teenage opponents, who are stronger and more robust. Supposedly.

“Everybody on the other side of the net hears it,” Sweet said. “Maybe if they start thinking about it, it screws them up.”

Despite suffering a knee injury Tuesday against Cuesta, Rossi has maintained a persevering attitude: Pass the aspirin, let’s go.

“It’s great,” said Rossi, who taped her knee for practice Wednesday. “Kill me. I don’t care.”

With only eight players, Pierce (3-6, 0-1 in Western State Conference play) is not exactly rewriting the record books. But the mother-daughter tandem has been a highlight.

The dialogue between Sweet and Rossi ranges from jesting to advising.

Sometimes they act like relatives, seeking out each other during water breaks and discussing family matters. Other times, they act like college roommates, jabbering and jawing while trying to top each other during scrimmages.

“We always make sure we’re blocking or hitting against each other in drills,” Sweet said. “When I’m across from her, it’s like, ‘I’m going to block you.’ ”

Said Rossi: “I think it’s funny. I never really thought I could [play at this level] until I went to practice last year. I’m lucky.”

Sweet, who graduated from Alemany High in 1996, hopes to transfer and play for Cal State Northridge next year. With a slight demand.

“I’m hoping my mom and I can get a package deal,” Sweet said. “It would be awesome.”

It would also mean more work for Rossi, a mail carrier in North Hollywood who rarely gets a chance to rest.

She has 6-year-old triplets at home, which begs an interesting question. Will she share court time with them, too?

“I won’t have any eligibility left,” Rossi said, sadly, before leaving her options open. “I’ll be able to practice with them, though.”