Pirates split at season-opening MPC Classic

Porterville College kicked off the 2019 season by splitting its two matches at the MPC Classic tourney in Monterey on Friday, opening the day with a 3-0 loss to San Jose City College before bouncing back with a sweep of its own over Skyline College for its first win.

Freshman Madison Doty was impressive in her Pirates debut, as she totaled 16 kills, four blocks, and four aces over the two matches.

Against San Jose City, the match was much closer than the 3-0 final outcome would indicate. PC was edged 25-21 in the opening set before falling 25-19 and 25-17 in the second and third.

Freshman Emily Kissick played well in her first action with the Pirates, leading her squad with eight kills to go along with eight digs. Doty posted six kills while freshman Jocelyn Sanchez had five kills.

 Freshman Jordan Castaneda had a team-best 16 assists and freshman Karissa Jones totaled an impressive 22 digs. Freshman Katie Phillips also contributed three digs, two kills, and two aces.

Porterville took advantage of a Skyline squad that committed 20 hitting errors to earn the 25-12, 25-23, 25-18 sweep to close out the day.

Doty had a huge match, leading PC to the victory with 10 kills, four aces, and two blocks.

Sanchez also played well, putting up seven kills and two blocks. Jones totaled 13 digs to lead the Pirates while Castaneda had another 16 assists.

Porterville, now 1-1 overall, returns to action on Saturday (Aug. 31) when it will play two more matches at the Cougar Classic at College of Alameda. The Pirates face Las Positas College at noon before closing out the tourney against host Alameda.