The Raiders hosted their division rival L.A. Pierce Wednesday, hoping to win a game at home. Moorpark was coming off a win over LA Tech, and looked to again defend their home court. LA Pierce was also coming off a win, and no doubt looked to embarrass their rivals by stealing a win on the road.

Pierce came out of the first game fired up and put Moorpark on their heels with a 25-15 win. Pierce was a loud team, and the effects on the young Raiders were obvious.

“We lost our identity right there,” said head coach Steve Burkhart.

After the first game, the Raiders managed to get their feet under them and put up a fight, but still lost the second game 25-20.

“[We] played a little scared,” said co-captain Brandon Kohler, “We didn’t protect our house.”

With the third and possibly final game, coach Burkhart decided to bring in opposite hitter Kai Bowden and libero Jose Rojas, who had recently lost his starting position to Jamal Balkhi. Both players knew this rivalry well, and were determined to flip the table on Pierce.

The Raiders came out strong and quickly gained a four point lead. Moorpark kept up the pace and finished the third game with a score of 25-16. The Raiders had managed to avoid getting swept, looking to use the winds of change to push for another win.

With Moorpark taking the third game, momentum was fully in the hands of the Raiders. The young team looked energized and excited to show Pierce that they weren’t a team that would just roll over and take a loss. The fourth game ended with a kill by Kohler, and Moorpark took the game 25-17. Moorpark tied the match 2-2 and looked to complete the comeback with a win in the fifth and final game.

With the fifth game only going up to 15, the pressure was on both teams to make a good start. The Raiders started fast and took a 3-0 lead. Pierce rallied back and tied the game 4-4. Moorpark managed to push their lead to three with a score of 11-8. But Pierce once again came back and this time took the lead 12-11. The Raiders were forced to take a timeout to regroup and stop Pierce’s momentum. Moorpark came out of the timeout and took over the game, finishing the dramatic comeback with a 15-13 win in the fifth game.

The young Moorpark team beat their rivals in the most dramatic fashion, shocking Pierce players and fans alike.

“It was intense, I loved it,” said freshmen outside hitter Andrew Strick. “We like to put on a show.”

Moorpark will look to put on another show for their fans at home against Long Beach Wednesday March 12.