SAN MARCOS — Palomar hosted Golden West and Santa Ana to begin the regular season. Dominance was on display as the Comets won every set against the visiting teams.
With only four returning players from Palomar’s 2024 roster, there was a high probability that the Comets were heading into a rebuild year.
Despite limited experience playing together, Palomar quickly found its rhythm, sweeping both opening week opponents in straight sets.
“The overall passion for succeeding in volleyball is what helped form the strong team chemistry,” Emma Bambe (#12) said. “Watching each other’s success makes everyone want to work harder for our teammates.”
In the first set against the Golden West Rustlers, the Comets were down 21-17 before Palomar head coach Karl Seiler called a timeout. This strategy proved to be a turning point as the Comets won eight out of the next 10 points to take the first set.
Palomar won the next two sets, 25-10 and 25-17, to shut out the Rustlers 3-0.
Outside hitters Reese Maffit (#9) and Kate Johnson (#18) had a combined 22 kills in the match while setter Caden Pinto (#8) stood out with a total of 34 assists. All three players are freshmen from different high schools.
Assistant coach Kenna Broach credited the sophomore leadership to the early success of its new additions.
“There’s a lot of leadership through our two sophomore captains, Kiana (Merrill) and Emma. They do a really good job and it also helps when you have a bunch of freshmen who want to learn by example and just love the game,” Broach said.
The Comets carried the momentum from the sweep of Golden West into the matchup against the Santa Ana Dons on Aug. 29, winning again in three sets. Volumes in the Dome were at a peak, with many Palomar football players in attendance to cheer on fellow student-athletes.
After taking the first two sets 25-12 and 25-16, Seiler felt comfortable utilizing players outside of the starting lineup for the third set. Although the margin was smaller with a final score of 25-19, the Comets proved the team chemistry is solid throughout the roster.
Maffit and Johnson both reached double-digit kills again in the victory and Pinto increased her total assists to 38 despite not playing the full match.
Excited, strong, hungry and driven are the words Palomar’s coaches and players used to describe their start to the season. Their goal as a team is to make it to the state playoffs, which they missed out on by a single set last season.
“We’ve gradually improved every single year since COVID, culminating with last year almost making it to the state playoffs. So that’s the ultimate goal for us,” Coach Seiler said.
After a week of road games, the Comets will return home to take on San Bernardino Valley, at 5 p.m. on Sept. 10.
For schedule and team information, visit the Palomar Athletics’ website.