The MSJC volleyball team finally gets a chance to get back on the floor this weekend as they host a pair of matches Friday and Saturday.
The Eagles will open their 2021 season Friday night at 5 pm against Cerritos before welcoming East Los Angeles College to MSJC on Saturday at 2 pm.
MSJC won the program's first ever conference title in 2019, but were unable to defend their championship last year due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Eagles are excited to get back on the floor after an extra long off season. Head Coach Serinna Eason is especially happy that they get to open the season at home, "I'm just excited for our team to have the opportunity to compete again, and being at home makes it extra special." "Right now with the ever changing covid situation all we are guaranteed right now is this weekend, so I want our team to be very business like in some ways as far as winning goes, but more importantly I want them to enjoy the moment."
Student-athletes at MSJC were not allowed on campus from mid-March of 2020 until February 1st of 2021. During that down time teams had to find different ways to keep their students involved in the program. "I'm amazed at the commitment level", added Eason, "during the shutdown we would have zoom meetings 3 or 4 days a week for a couple of hours and our athletes showed up each time and put in the work to be ready for our return." Since the return in February the team has been hard at work in the gym, the weight room, and on the track to ensure their physical conditioning for the year.
The program is coming off three play-off appearances in the past four seasons and have had four straight seasons with a winning record. This year's team is made up almost exclusively of "new" players though most of them were part of the "pandemic season" last Fall and Winter. Ruby Ruiz is the only member of this year's team with MSJC experience as she played her freshmen year for the Eagles in 2018.
As far as expectations for the season and more immediately this weekend Eason says, "We need to concentrate on controlling what we can control, we have no scouting reports to go off this early in the year, we just need to focus on getting better each match." "I think we maybe have the best balance we've had in my time here as far as talent by position goes, so it's just a matter of how we play together as a team and keep improving."
Volleyball is back and we hope to see you all this weekend!! Please see the link below for MSJC's spectator policy for home contests this Fall.