September 13, 2004

Glendale, Eastern Arizona checked off

Rival colleges fall in first of season’s games

Ben Buettner
Mesa Legend

Mesa Community College’s rival, Glendale CC, was one of the most anticipated match-ups coming into the season for the volleyball team.
Coach Tricia Melfy pointed out three major teams that are the most formidable in the region, being Chandler-Gilbert, Eastern Arizona and Glendale. Her goal for her team is to finish third in the region.
Mesa started off well when Eastern Arizona went down first on Aug. 27. Sure the girls were thrilled to win after coming back from only being able to take one of the first three matches, to winning the last two matches 32-30 and 15-11.
The real story is coming back from the deficit that they overcame against Glendale on Sept. 1. Though they swept the matches, during the second match, they came back from a 22-8 deficit to win 30-28.
That is a very tall feat in today’s rally match scoring. The college scoring changed four years ago from traditional volleyball scoring when the team could only score on their serve. Rally match scoring changed that to allow scoring to a team when they did not have the serve. Theoretically, a team who played defense well, for example, could come back from further depths by negating the other teams serving points by that good defense and build a comeback through their serve.
Coach Melfy admitted, “they showed me something that I didn’t think was possible” by coming back from 22-8. Former MCC volleyball head coach Joni Powell reiterated how difficult is was knowing the rules changed, with a look of disbelief while asking if rally scoring was the method by which the comeback was manifested.
Rally scoring is alive and well and very entertaining, I haven’t had more fun covering another sport. These girls are very animated and entertaining. After every point they either shake their butts in a synchronized circle or end with a battle cry “woo-woo.” The lengths that they go to dive after a ball, would earn respect from any sports fan.
If you have time, check them out this Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Mesa’s Theo Heap gymnasium.
They also play at the Valley of the Sun Tourney this weekend.