Pirates’ 3-1 win over Butte highlights opening weekend

SANTA ROSA – A busy opening weekend of the 2024 Porterville College women's volleyball season came to a close with the Pirates' 3-1 victory over Butte College on Saturday at Santa Rosa Junior College.

An impressive two-day effort by the PC sophomore duo of Noelani Espiritu and Aliza Bun helped lead Porterville to the 26-24, 25-20, 18-15, 25-18 win against Butte.

Espiritu and Bun both totaled 15 kills each while adding 18 digs and 19 digs respectively. Setter Jolina Castaneda was solid with 33 assists and a team-best 20 digs and Rubi Guzman chipped in with 14 digs.

Earlier in the day, the Pirates suffered a 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-21) loss to host Santa Rosa.

Espiritu led PC with 8 kills and 11 digs. Bun totaled 10 digs and 4 kills while Morgan Mattos contributed 5 kills.

Porterville officially opened the season on Friday, playing in a pair of matches at Modesto Junior College as part of the Big 8/Central Valley Conference Challenge.

It was a tough day for the Pirates as the dropped both matches, falling 3-1 (25-22, 25-10, 18-25, 25-16) to Cosumnes River College and 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 18-25, 15-9) to host Modesto.

Despite the losses, PC put up some big numbers. Espiritu and Bun set the tone early. Espiritu totaled 12 kills and 15 digs to begin the season. Bun had 11 kills and 10 digs. Also for PC, Castaneda had 26 assists and 14 digs while Guzman contributed 16 digs and a pair of aces.

PC battled against Modesto but ultimately came up short in a tough five-set loss. Bun had 15 kills and 22 digs while Espiritu posted 15 kills as well with 17 digs. Guzman led all with 32 digs.

For the weekend, Espiritu totaled 50 kills and 61 digs and Bun had 45 kills and 61 digs. Castaneda closed out the four matches with 92 assists, 48 digs, 13 kills, and 8 aces. Guzman totaled 68 digs and added 6 aces.

Porterville, now 1-3 overall, is back in action on Friday (Aug. 30) when the Pirates return to Modesto for a pair of non-conference matches. PC is set to take on Solano College at 2 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. contest against host Modesto.