San Jose City College’s volleyball team huddled by the court entrance chanting, “Win! Win!” before stepping onto the court to face Skyline for their Oct. 7 match on the Trojans’ home floor. Evidently, Skyline decided to show them how.

Earlier this season, Skyline and San Jose faced off in the 25th annual San Jose City College Volleyball Invitational, where the Trojans managed to put away the Jaguars in four sets. This October meeting proved to be different as Skyline dealt with injuries to key starters, leaving the Trojan coaching staff with the task of developing a game plan to counter a healthy Jaguar team.

Poor communication between the Jaguars had them fighting an uphill battle early in the first game as the Trojans played a balanced game and took advantage of the issues on the opposing side of the court. Hustle plays by freshmen Theresa Ferrari and Kimberly Tang strengthened the team’s performance as they kept the ball in play throughout the match. San Jose fell to the Trojans after the first set.

Game 2 proved to be much more competitive as the Jaguars addressed their poor execution and took control early. Again, Skyline’s balance managed to easily bring them back to tie the second set at seven points apiece. The game remained tight as Skyline sophomore April Sherfy’s clever play at the net left the Jaguars frantically diving to the floor unable to respond and eventually losing the second set.

Making up one third of the Trojan offense, Sherfy continued to dominate offensively in the third set as her individual numbers skyrocketed. Fans in the gym cheered as their Trojan team capitalized with successful rallies deflating the Jaguars’ hopes of a comeback. San Jose lost three consecutive sets, falling to Skyline for the second time this season.

“They all stepped up,” Head Coach Rayannah Salahuddin noted after the game. “Every player on the court played hard and helped make up for our injured players. April was truly a team leader. She’s the player she is through hard work,” she added, referring to her team captain’s performance.

“Their defense was set up for our offense, so we had to change it when we were out on the court,” Sherfy said. “We did a good job, and it helped us get the win.” She noted that the ability to adjust to different teams has helped them get through many games this season. 

Although Skyline was able to defeat San Jose in straight sets, defensive specialist Ferrari saw aspects of the game not reflected in the final box score. With momentum mounting from wins against De Anza College and San Jose City College, Ferrari sets the bar higher as they continue their conference schedule.

“Something we have to address is maintaining our intensity throughout games,” Ferrari said.

“We have a tendency to relax when we get a lead, which teams pick up on. Overall, we played a great game, but it’s definitely something we have to fix.”

After the win, Skyline’s record improved to 2-2 in conference play, and 8-9 overall. They will travel to San Francisco to face arch-rival City College of San Francisco on Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in hopes of remaining undefeated in October.