Glendale College Lady Vaqueros were elated after pulling off a 3-2 comeback win stunning the visiting Citrus College Lady Owls on Friday.

Things were starting to look grim for the Lady Vaqs after the third set. They were down 1-2, and things seemed to be going the Lady Owls’ way.

The same problems plagued the Lady Vaqs, their errors being the most important one. In the third set alone, they committed more than nine errors, all leading to points for the opponents.

But the start of the fourth set was different. The stands, the most crowd-filled since the season started, was more rapturous than ever. Even after the team being down 1-2, the crowd continued to show their support by yelling, hollering, and banging on the bleachers.

The team was clearly more ecstatic than ever coming into the fourth set. Coach Yvette Ybarra was later asked what she told her team coming into the fourth, she said, “I told them to just stay with it, remembering not to lose their confidence.”

“I saw that they weren’t giving up and that they really wanted to win this one, and that made me extremely happy,” said Ybarra.

“Coach reminded us that we were a good team, that we were better than them,” said outside hitter, Carissa Mathijssen. “We kept our confidence high. We made it a point to show them that we own this court. At the end, we knew we were better than them.”

Mathijssen was spectacular in both her offensive and defensive game. She was second in kills with 10, and third in digs with seven.

“To be honest, I was very worried because we started so inconsistently in the beginning,” said assistant coach Lucinda Bucan. “But thank God we later found our groove. It was exciting to see the team get over that obstacle.”

To say that this game was an offensive and defensive domination for the Lady Vaqs is an understatement. No one proved more evident than the volleyball team’s pride and joy, Aya Nakano.

Nakano led the team with the most kills, with 17 and the most digs with 11. Nakano was impressive behind that net. Defensively, she dove and dug for every single ball that went her way. At one point, she exchanged blow per blow against the entire Lady Owls team.

“Coach told us that we needed to be confident, and the entire game I just stayed aggressive,” said Nakano.

“I just believed in my teammates that we could win this one, and we did,” added Nakano.

One player that deserved honorable mention is Nicole Diller. She managed to rack up 45 assists during the game.

The Lady Vaqs’ next game will be on Thursday against Bakersfield College.