The Moorpark College men’s volleyball team was not phased the least bit after losing its first set 30-28, winning the next three matches to take the victory over L.A. Pierce Wednesday night at Moorpark Pavilion.
Christopher Trauger had the ball go through his hands after the Brahmas served, trailing 29-28 at that point, and eventually losing the match.
Trauger was not rattled by the miscue, believing he had to move on to the next ball.
“You got to forget about the last ball,” Trauger said. “You have to move on and play the next possession.”
With this mentality, Moorpark won three straight sets, 30-23, 30-15, and 30-28 respectively.
After the costly miscue in he first game, Christopher Trauger took over and had an impressive 19 kills, 11 blocks and an ace. Middle Blocker Sean Martin added 13 kills and six blocks for Moorpark as well.
L.A. Pierce’s Javeal Boykins led the way with 10 kills and five blocks in a losing effort.
Moorpark started sluggish in the first game, trailing 10-5 in the early going. They were able to cut the lead to 15-14, and even tied it at 18-18, before falling 30-28.
In the second match, the Raiders came out on fire, jumping to a 9-1, which included 8 straight points for the Raiders. A 6-1 run put Moorpark on top 15-3, and the Brahmas could never catch up, cutting the lead to 23-17 before losing the second match 30-23.
The Raiders dominated the third match, winning 30-15, which was put away at 18-6 after Trauger’s kill.
After dropping the last two matches, L.A. Pierce put up a fight to force a fifth match, but was unable to cut yet another deficit.
Trailing 19-14 at one point, the Brahmas got within a point of the Raiders before Sean Martin sealed the game on a block, which put the Raiders up 27-24.
Not surprisingly, Trauger finished the game with a kill, giving the Raiders the match and the victory 30-28 in four sets.
Moorpark’s Coach Steve Burkhart was impressed with his team’s overall performance, believing their hard work at practice paid off.
“We are doing the right things right now,” Burkhart said. “The team works really hard at practice.”
The Raiders improved to 9-1 on the year (3-1 WSC) while the L.A. Pierce Brahmas fell to 8-2 on the year, and 2-2 in WSC play.
Moorpark is set to play El Camino College on the road this Friday, March 13. The L.A. Pierce Brahmas will host Long Beach City College next Wednesday, March 18.
