Giants set for home volleyball debut

By Nick Giannandrea

For College of the Sequoias Athletics

On the cusp of a state ranking, College of the Sequoias' women's volleyball team is set to make its home debut Sept. 20.

The Giants, who are listed as one of the "Best of the Rest" teams outside the California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association's Top 25, will host Porterville in a Central Valley Conference match schedule to start at 6 p.m. from Porter Field House.

COS enters 7-3 overall and 1-0 in the CVC after beating West Hills-Coalinga 27-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-14 on Sept. 18. Porterville, which will be playing its first conference match, is 5-5 overall.

The Giants have been led by sophomore Christa Pilgrim (Mission Oak High), who has 91 kills and 55 digs on the season.

Freshman Hazel Martinez (Mission Oak) has contributed 63 kills and 13 blocks, sophomore Karen Rodriguez (Kingsburg) has 54 kills and 21 digs, sophomore Mikayla Grimes (Edison) has 29 kills and sophomore Madison Sousa (Hanford West) has 27 kills and 19 blocks to contribute to COS' offensive attack.

Sophomore Sydney Guinn (Exeter) and freshman Kia Campbell (Coalinga) have contributed 161 and 100 assists, respectively, while sophomore Alexis Carmona (Madera) has led the back row with 143 digs. Sophomore Peighton Sisk (El Diamante) has added 54 digs.

COS is looking to improve on last season's third-place finish in the CVC, when it went 14-4 behind conference champion Fresno City (18-0) and Merced (15-3).

Fresno City, which visits COS on Oct. 11, is ranked third in the state, while Merced, Columbia and West Hills-Coalinga all join the Giants among the CCCWVCA's "Best of the Rest" list.

FOOTBALL

COS will look to get back on track offensively when it travels to Weed on Sept. 21 to face College of the Siskiyous.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

The Giants (1-1) were limited to 201 yards offense in a 38-6 loss at Chabot on Sept. 14 after rolling up 507 yards during a 30-24 overtime victory at home over Feather River on Sept.7.

Siskiyous enters 0-2, having been beaten by state top 10-ranked teams in San Mateo (44-7) and Fresno City (49-0) the past two weeks.

The Eagles are yielding 399 yards per game, 215.5 rushing and 183.5 passing. 

Siskiyous opened the season ranked No. 17 in the JC Athletic Bureau Coaches Poll and No. 25 in the California Community College Sports Information Directors poll. The Eagles are still receiving 17 votes by the CCCSID.

COS received 11 votes from the JCAB and two from the CCCSID this week.

For their efforts against Chabot, sophomore safety Anthony Cervantes (Tulare Western), freshman offensive lineman Jonathan Harmon (Tulare Western) and freshman defensive back Jose-Luis Ramos (Golden West) were, respectively, named the Giants' Tachi-Yokut Defensive, Offensive and Special Teams players of the week.

COS' next home game is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 28 against Santa Rosa at the Giant Chevrolet and Cadillac Mineral King Bowl.

MEN'S SOCCER

The Giants (0-3-2) aim for their first win of the season when they play host to Victor Valley (2 p.m. Sept. 20) and Siskiyous (noon Sept. 21) this weekend on their campus field.

Victor Valley enters 2-2-1, while Siskiyous is 1-2-1.

COS let two leads slip away during its most recent game, a 3-2 home loss to Bakersfield on Sept. 19. Jose Cardenas (Delano) and Ezequiel Rodriguez (Farmersville) scored goals for the Giants, while Alexis Cabrera (Redwood) had an assist.  

COS will play one more nonconference game at Compton on Sept. 27 before opening Central Valley Conference play Oct. 1 when it hosts Taft at Riverway Sports Park in a match scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

COS appears to be in a position to bolster its 2-2-1 season record when it hosts Cerro Coso and Siskiyous in nonconferece games this weekend on its campus field.

Cerro Coso, which visits the Giants at 4 p.m. Sept. 20, enters 0-6-0 and having been outscored 34-0. 

Siskiyous, which play at COS at 10 a.m. Sept. 21, is 1-4-1, including a 4-1 loss to Sacramento City. The Giants beat Sacramento City 4-0 on Sept. 10.

COS has three more nonconference games (Sept. 24 at No. 19 Chabot, Sept 27 at Cerro Cosa and Oct. 11 at Modesto) before opening Central Valley Conference play Oct. 15 by hosting state No. 1-ranked Fresno City.

The Giants have been led by sophomores Caitlyn Albison (Harmony), Joana Guerra (Woodlake) and Kamryn Berry (Tulare Western), who have all scored two goals.

CROSS COUNTRY

The state No. 7 and Northern California No. 2-ranked COS men's team returns to action Sept. 21 at the Cal State San Bernardino Invitational.

The men's four-mile race is set to start at 9:30 a.m.

Sophomores Ismael Ramirez (Redwood) and Oscar Perez (Dinuba), who placed eighth and 74th, respectively, at the state championships last season will lead the Giants.

Ramirez was second (21:05.0) and Perez was 16th (21:28.9) when COS opened the season Sept. 7 at the Fresno Invitational.

The Giants' women's team debuts this weekend during a 5K race set to start at 8 a.m.

Sophomore Courtney Santos (Hanford West) is the only COS woman to compete so far this season, placing 71st (22:44.6) at the Fresno Invitational.

The rest of the Giants' women runners -- sophomore Viviana Delval (Exeter) and freshmen Sky Garcia (Mt. Whitney), Katherine Nava (Sierra Vista) and Ashley Salas (Corcoran) -- are expected to race this weekend.