Staring defeat in the face, the Gavilan College women’s volleyball team fought back from a two-sets-to-none hole and a daunting 22-15 deficit in the third set to steal a victory – 17-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18, 15-13 – from visiting Foothill College in thrilling fashion Friday night.
Three points away from suffering a sweep, Gavilan’s Kayce Skocko served five straight points to get the Rams to within two at 22-20. After an Owls side-out to bring it to 23-20, Gavilan earned the next five points to save the set, stave off the loss and eventually harness that momentum through to its five-set win.
“We did anything and everything to give them a different look,” said Gavilan head coach Kevin Kramer, whose Rams improve to 5-1 inside the Coast Conference South and 14-8 overall. “We kind of unloaded the boat with this one. The rallies were just back and forth all match.”
Deadlocked at 13-13 in the winner-take-all, first-to-15 fifth set, the two sides produced a one-minute, seven-second rally, which eventually led to a Gavilan point.
“A lot of things can happen there,” Kramer said. “That was a big point for us. It was pretty intense.”
Eva Latu delivered a season-high 21 kills, and was one of three Rams to record at least 20 digs – a list including, Skocko and Kayondra Hood. Sabina Gerard had 46 assists and Tasmin Apple chipped in 14 kills, with Skocko adding 10 kills.
Gavilan has a chance to avenge its lone South loss at Ohlone on Friday night.