SAN MARCOS — After going down 11-3, the Comets dug deep and rallied to secure the second set, propelling the team to sweep the Desert Warriors on Oct. 17.
In the teams’ previous matchup on Sept. 17, Palomar bested Imperial Valley 3-1, but it was a victory the Comets thought they should have clinched without dropping a set.
“We came into it thinking we were going to easily sweep them, and then we were challenged and struggled,” Caden Pinto (#8) said. “We thought the win was going to get handed to us.”
Palomar got another chance for a sweep on Oct. 17, and after a comfortable 25-19 first-set win, momentum was high.
But Imperial Valley refused to fold and took a commanding 11-3 lead in the second set. The Comets’ control faded as their spikes were blocked and dug by the Desert Warriors’ scrappy defense.
“We wanted to fight and earn this win without losing a set,” Mackenzie Moreno (#15) said. “We couldn’t let this slip. We needed to change our game and start playing as hard as we know we can.”
Teiora Tinoisamoa (#6) secured a side-out with a sliding spike for a kill, and Palomar began an ambitious journey to retake the lead.
Kiana Merrill (#3) served seven times in a row during the initial rally, tying the game at 11-11, but Imperial Valley was able to side-out on the eighth serve to go ahead once more. Sierra Schoenwald (#13) held the Desert Warriors to one point with a massive middle-position spike — one of her seven kills in the match.
“We’ve done it before,” Schoenwald said. “We’ve dug ourselves out and come back from impossible holes. The only score that matters is the final one.”
Both teams fought hard, but it was the defense from Moreno, Merrill, and Pinto that barred Imperial Valley from more long rallies and kept Palomar alive. The Comets’ hitters found new resolve, and each kill inched the team closer to victory.
After breaking the final tie and taking a 23-22 lead, Palomar didn’t relent and took the set by winning the next two points. Revitalized from overcoming a large deficit, the Comets achieved the three-set sweep, cruising to a 25-16 win in the third set.
“I didn’t have a doubt in my mind that we had that set, even when we were down,” Merrill said. “That group that showed up in the comeback of the second set, we are that team.”
