PC roundup: Pirate volleyball seeded No. 6
The Porterville College volleyball team got what it wanted. A home playoff match.
It’s believed for the first time in school history, PC will host a state playoff match as the Pirates were seeded No. 6 in the Northern California Regionals on Sunday. PC will host No. 11 Monterey Peninsula on Tuesday at a time to be determined.
“We’re happy with the seed,” PC coach Dale Henderson said. “It’s what we expected. I think we got a little tougher team than I expected. I think we’ll be OK.”
Monterey Peninsula (18-4) finished second in its conference behind Cabrillo, which PC (19-6) beat in five games this season. Monterey lost twice to Cabrillo, in three games and five games.
With a win, PC would advance to face the winner between No. 3 Santa Rosa (23-2) and No. 14 Yuba (23-1) on Friday. If Santa Rosa wins, PC would travel to Santa Rosa while if Yuba pulls off the upset, the Pirates would host Yuba.
A win there would put PC in a regional final likely at No. 2 Feather River (29-2), which beat the Pirates in three games this season. The two North regional final winners will advance to the State Final Four on Dec. 1 and 2.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PC WOMEN WIN TITLE
Porterville College (2-4) came back to win two games to win the consolation title of the Barsto Tournament, beating Victor Valley 79-56 and Barstow 75-65 in the consolation finals.
Against Victor Valley, PC pulled away after leading 36-33 at halftime. PC coach Dave Kavern said his team was able to pick up many easy transition baskets against Victor Valley’s pressure defense. Maribel Bravo, who made the all-tournament team, scored 22 points, Destiny Zarate scored 12 points, Alia Alvarez had 10 points, Jeidi Gutierrez had nine points and Jackie Padron and Katrina Goulbourne each added eight points for the Pirates.
PC also controlled the second half against Barstow, leading by double digits for most of the second half after leading by four points at halftime. Bravo and Goulbourne led the way as Kavern said Goulbourne likely had a double double in points and rebounds as she scored 24 points and Bravo had several assists, Kavern said, along with scoring 25 points. Also for PC, Zarate scored eight points and Gutierrez added six points.
Kavern praised the play of Chrissy Medina, Padron and Guiterrez off the bench. He also said he was pleased with his team’s ball movement on offense and his team’s defense. “We really played well as a team,” Kavern said.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
PC (0-4) lost to Cypress 80-74 at the San Diego Tournament. Porterville trailed 39-30 at halftime, but rallied to climb within two with less than two minutes to play and had a chance to tie or take the lead, but turned the ball over. Cypress then hit a three-pointer to effectively put the game away.
“We really played well the last seven or eight minutes,” PC coach T.J. Jennings said. “We did a good job of coming back.”
Tyrone Hall scored 15 points, Ivory Easley had 13 points and Juddon Carter added nine points for PC.
