Women's Volleyball Moves Into 1st Place In SCC North With Upset Over Rival Mt. SAC

Pasadena CIty College women's volleyball head coach Mike Terrill knew his Lancers were overdue to show a state-ranked opponent its true potential. Rated #20 in the State Top 25, PCC couldn't have picked a better night to click than Wednesday when it knocked off #14 Mt. San Antonio in five thrilling sets, 25-18, 22-25, 25-12, 22-25, 15-7 at Hutto-Patterson Gymnasium.

The victory catapulted the Lancers (14-12) into first place in the South Coast Conference North Division at 5-1 while Mt. SAC (16-7 overall) suffered its first defeat in league play at 4-1. With Mt. SAC's earlier win over PCC and a few matches v. weaker opponents for both teams, the rivals will likely finish as Co-SCC North champions.

Pasadena once again were led by sophomore transfer outside hitter Biko Hollie, who was all over the floor in totaling 22 kills (hit .340), 19 digs and three blocks (two solos).

Hollie's defense along with the play of libero Emily Licon (19 digs) and defensive specialists Juyeon Lee (13 digs) and Marina Segura (10 digs) were instrumental in long rallies while middle blockers Savannah Curtis (five kills, five blocks) and Brianna Galvan (five kills, three blocks) and opposite Mahrie Bedjakiian (six kills, three blocks) used their height at the net to be defensive stars in forcing Mt. SAC into 35 attack errors overall.

The team's serving was at its best with Lee scoring four aces and both Kamea Vongfak and Segura adding three each. 

"Our team followed and executed our game plan from start to finish," Terrill said. 'We stayed composed and confident and didn't falter even when Mt. SAC was playing well and put us on our heels. We were all on the same page and united. It was a big win for our team and I'm very proud of the resilience we showed to get it done in five sets."

Another factor in the win was the play of setters Vongfak (32 assists, three aces, three blocks) and Shaylee Ungos (seven assists, three digs) who came off the bench in the fourth set to ignite a comeback.

"While Biko shined with another of her impressive performances, I thought Kamea and Shaylee shared the success tonight. Shaylee came in and provided spark and offensive steadiness we needed to get us over the finish line."

After PCC had two solid set wins, including its 13-point rout in game 3, the Mounties jumped ahead 19-11 in the fourth. Terrill inserted Ungos, who had played sparingly in three previous matches due to illness, into the lineup and PCC responded by slicing the deficit to 23-22 on a Segura ace. While Mt. SAC forced the match into a fifth set, the gym was rocking with a contingent of PCC football and men's basketball players roaring along with other fans that seemed to inspire the Lancers play.

That carried into the fifth set. Mt. SAC took a 3-1 lead, but Hollie decided to take matters into her own hands, literally. The talented Hollie performed a solo block, a crushing kill, a combined block with Galvan, then made one of the more spectacular defensive plays of the match on what looked like a sure Mounties' kill as she dove to get her backhand to the floor just in time to keep the ball in play. The long rally continued resulting in a Mt. SAC attack error and a 6-4 Lancers lead. 

Outside hitter Chayse Hoon then powered three kills, including the match winner as the Lancers players and coaches raced to the front of the gym stands to celebrate an emotional victory with the 8-0 football team and the men's hoops squad that will begin its '24-25 season this Friday. Hoon finished with 13 kills.

PCC defeated Mt. SAC for the first time since 2021 when the Lancers had an undefeated 18-0 conference season to win a full, 9-team SCC championship. Going back to 1999, the rivals have played 15 matches that have gone the marathon route with the Lancers winning 10 of those 5-set affairs. 

Pasadena next plays at Rio Hondo on Wednesday, Nov. 13, then host Sophomore Night v. Los Angeles City on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.

[Photos by Richard Quinton below]

celebration after the win

The team gets excited

Segura with the diving dig

Hoon rips match point