Saturday, 23 August, 2008

The PCC Volleyball Team opened their 2008 season with two wins and three losses this weekend at the New Mexico Military Institute's Fall Classic Tournament. The Beavers' 2-2 pool record advanced them to the playoffs in the ten team tournament. Pratt fell 3-1 to Eastern New Mexico in the first round of the playoffs.

Pratt opened on Friday, defeating Vernon (TX) 27-29, 25-23, 15-13. The Beavers carried some momemtum into their next match against Yavapai (AZ), before falling 25-20, 15-20, 9-15. Pratt bounced back in the afternoon, defeating Otero 25-12 and 25-21.

On Saturday morning the Beavers faced host New Mexico Military Institute, getting the rare opportunity to play in front of 1,000 deafening cadets. It was an electric atmosphere that initially rattled Pratt resulting in a lopsided 12-25 defeat. However, Pratt recovered to take a 22-17 lead in the second game, before Juliana Chavez had to leave the game with an injury. The Beavers did not adjust to the loss of Chavez and dropped the game 25-23.

Pratt entered the playoffs facing Eastern New Mexico. ENM took the first two games 25-19, and 25-23. Again, Pratt bounced back with a convincing 25-19 win of their own, but lost the fourth set 25-21.

"Our opening tournament was definitely instructive for us," said Head Coach Patrick Hall. "I hope we learned a great deal about the necessity of a strong defense. We have work to do in that area. We can certainly compete offensively, and our serve has the potential to be a factor when we improve our consistency."