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Women’s Volleyball Team Goes Undefeated on
its way winning its second consecutive State
Championship
The Pierce Volleyball Team capped off its
2011 season on Sunday (December 4) with a
repeat and won another State Championship.
That makes it a back to back
championship for the program by defeating
the same team in the final match, Santa Rosa
College, in both seasons (2010 and 2011).
Additionally, not only were the Brahmas the
team to beat all year as they were ranked
number one in the state from the start of
the season and held down the top ranking in
the state all year around, they went
undefeated and completed a perfect season
(33W-0L).
This 2011 season was full of challenges for
the Brahmas. In a year when the pressure
alone of defending its 2010 State
Championship was felt throughout, the team
lost two starters to a knee injury, Shayna
Guitare and Kathleen Wright, and to make
things worse, Sofia Granato sprained her
knee at the beginning of conference play and
Elizabeth Schantz had a stress fracture in
her foot prior to the start of the season.
Needless to say, the team was as resilient
as a team or individual can be and overcame
the challenges of rallying from significant
deficits in three postseason matches to come
out on top.
After rallying from a two-game deficit to
win in five games in the semis against El
Camino, the top-seeded Brahmas played almost
flawlessly and beat Santa Rosa 25-19, 25-21,
26-24 in the championship to become the
fifth team in state history to capture
back-to-back titles; El Camino did it last
in 2007 and 2008. The team’s 33-0 record is
also the best overall season record in the
history of the California Community College
Women’s Volleyball.
In the final match against Santa Rosa, and
unlike its first round match against the
same team a day prior, when Pierce had to
rally from being down
one to two in games, the Brahmas controlled
the match from the start and with the help
of tournament MVP, Danetta Boykin,
All-Tournament selections, Veronika Ban,
Saku Fujii, and Jasmine Levi, who each had
18 kills, 9 kills, 12 kills, and 8 kills
respectively and a season-high 18 blocks,
the Brahmas won convincingly in three
straight and secured the repeat.
Furthermore, Janelle Futch had 47 assists,
nine digs and five blocks in the final, with
Brooke Dawson recording 13 digs, Danielle
Hochman contributing six digs and two aces
and Jessica Burns collecting three blocks.
“I want to thank you for all those who
supported our team during our memorable 2011
season, I could not be more pleased with the
2011 squad and the progress that they made
all season. What you see on the court on
game days is a somewhat of a “finished”
product. What you don’t see is the amount of
preparation, sacrifices, and the everyday
grind that our players have to endure
throughout a season and off-season in order
to become an integral part of the team. You
have my assurances that a great deal of
thought, measurement, and time goes into
preparing our players to meet their
potential both as individuals, and as a
team. Your support of the women is very much
appreciated. Hope to see you in the gym in
2012 as we hope to contend and go for a
three-peat!”
Nabil Mardini
Recap of the last eleven seasons
The Women's Volleyball Program has come a
long way since the head coach of the
Brahmas, Nabil Mardini, took over the helm.
It is worth noting that in the past
eleven years, the program holds a record
of 250 wins to 50 losses (80% winning
percentage), which included a 62-game home
winning streak, as well as the winner of ten
Western State Conference Championships, an
Elite Eight Appearance in 2004, a Final Four
Appearance in 2005, a State Runner Up in
2006, and two-time State Champions in 2010
and 2011.
"BRAHMAS ARE VERY RARE PEOPLE"
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