Pirates drop opening-day matches at Big 8/CVC Crossover

MODESTO – The 2022 Porterville College women's volleyball season got off to a tough start as the Pirates suffered two losses on opening day at the Big 8 Conference/Central Valley Conference Crossover tournament. The one-day event was held at Modesto Junior College on Friday.

PC battled in a 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 24-26, 25-16) loss in its first match against Cosumnes River College and closed out the night with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-16) loss to host Modesto.

Sophomore outside hitter Victoria Dabney, one of just two returners for the Pirates this season, totaled 10 kills over the two matches to lead Porterville. She, along with sophomore defensive specialist Andrea Frausto, will be looked upon for leadership on a very young freshmen-heavy squad.

Frausto had a busy day on defense for the Pirates as she came up with 32 digs over the two contests.

Dabney paced PC in the Cosumnes River match, leading with five kills while also posting 10 digs. Freshman Davina Lopez had four kills and four blocks, freshman Kailey Cha contributed 14 digs, and Frausto had a team-high 18 digs.

Freshman setters Rilynn Fien and Reyna Ennis split duty at the position. Fien led with 13 assists to go with five digs while Ennis posted 11 assists, four digs, and two blocks.

Porterville had a tougher time getting the offense going against Modesto. Dabney and Lopez both led the squad with five kills. Frausto posted a team-high 14 digs while Fien totaled 10 assists and six digs.

Porterville (0-2) returns to action next Friday (Sep. 2) in search of its first win at the Modesto Quad. The Pirates are scheduled to face Solano College and College of Marin.