Yellowjackets come out flat, lose to Chaffey, 3-0

Strong play by several players is negated by mistakes, miscommunication, and inconsistent team effort

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Annaleigha Hernandez

Joleena Silberman and Jayda Porter rise to the occasion on defense.

Colton, CA—For their third home game of the season, Colton’s volleyball team hosted the Chaffey Tigers and took an unexpected loss in straight sets, 3-0.

It was a game defined by mistakes, miscommunication, and inconsistent effort. Senior libero, Jennifer Amaral, said, “This isn’t how we usually play. There was lack of effort, lack of energy, and overall I feel like we weren’t as prepared as we thought. The energy was off and I feel like that’s why my team didnt get the outcome we wanted.”

In the first set, Colton started off strongly with early points by Glory Mgbemere, Kiara Verdin, and Joleena Silberman, who played tough at the net. However, they couldn’t sustain their play, Chaffey took advantage, and the team’s miscommunication and bad energy resulted in a 25-18 victory for Chaffey.

As with the first set, the Yellowjackets started well, with Leslie Venegas putting up two early points with a tip and an attack. The rest of the set was a back-and-forth match, with excellent play by Jayda Porter and solid digs by Desyree Gutierrez. Chaffey pulled ahead at 23-22, and Colton couldn’t fight back, losing the second set 25-22.

The last set was challenging for Colton. Again, the start was strong, with Kiara Verdin serving up two aces, but too many miscommunicated free passes gave Chaffey the upper hand. Colton couldn’t catch up after Chaffey took a 14-9 advantage, and went on to win the set 25-18.

The Yellowjackets might have put up a tough fight, but Leslie Venegas thinks that,” my team pushed hard but we could have definitely pushed harder, we have a lot to work on but I believe in my team’s hard work and determination to come back from this.”

Amaral agreed. “I know my team and I believe we can work on it and we have the capability to do better.”

The Yellowjackets travel to Indian Springs High on Friday to play the Coyotes at 5:15 p.m. The Pepper Bough will not have coverage for this game.