Golden West Title Streak Stopped at Five by Pierce

Los Angeles Pierce fought off seven Golden West match points to win Game 4 and rode the momentum to win the state community college men’s volleyball championship, 12-15, 15-12, 5-15, 17-16, 15-9, Saturday night at Irvine Valley College.

The Brahmas avenged last year’s five-game loss to the Rustlers, and halted Golden West’s state championship streak at five.

Pierce’s Lance Walker finished with 62 kills. Six of his 20 kills in the fourth game came during key moments that helped spell the end for Golden West.

Walker’s effort in the fourth game came after his six hitting errors helped Golden West take an 8-7 lead. He came back to lead his team to five straight points. The Rustlers came back to tie the score, 13-13, when Anthony Medel and David Cornett blocked Walker, and eventually went ahead, 16-15.

But the Rustlers couldn’t finish, as Walker pounded five straight kills and Ryan Murdock drilled the final kill of the game.

“Walker is a clutch player, he wants the ball at all times,” Pierce Coach Greg Vernovage said. “They really came back in that fourth game. I told them they were not having their best match and that we’re capable of turning it around.”

Said Golden West Coach Mike D’Alessandro: “I don’t know, he just put everything down.”

The Brahmas (15-4) dominated the fifth game, as Golden West (14-5) didn’t win a point off its serve until cutting Pierce’s lead to 13-9 on a hitting error by Walker.

Pierce went on to hit the ball past the Rustler block and win the match.

Medel led the Rustlers with 38 kills; Marshall Roberts had 28.

“That fourth game was our chance,” said D’Alessandro, whose personal state title streak was stopped at four. “They hit a few balls out of bounds that our defenders shouldn’t have touched. If we let those balls go out of bounds it’s our trophy, not theirs.”

It certainly appeared to be going in the other direction.

A five-minute delay due to a Pierce substitution error cost Golden West some momentum in the second game, which it eventually lost. Things changed in the third game, as the Rustlers jumped to a 6-1 lead and cruised to the win.

Walker went cold early in the fourth, but when he heated up, it was over for Golden West.

Travis Nelson led the Rustlers with 95 assists. Cornett had 12 blocks and Mike Deal added nine for Golden West.