Alison Fuata didn't start playing volleyball until her freshman year of high school.

The 5-foot-10 sophomore from Hilo, Hawaii said her first sport was soccer.

Fuata displayed those soccer abilities — with kick and head volleys — to extend rallies on the court as the Odessa College volleyball team defeated Midland College 25-21, 25-27, 25-14, 25-18 in a WJCAC match Wednesday at the OC Sports Center.

"It's little things that get us riled up, especially with long rallies, it really helps," said Fuata, who ended with nine kills, seven digs and one block.

The Lady Wranglers (14-3 overall, 3-0 WJCAC) needed all the help they could get in the first two sets against the Lady Chaps.

In the first set, Midland College (8-11, 1-2) grabbed an early 11-5 lead and Odessa College called a timeout. The Lady Wranglers responded with a 10-1 run to take 15-12 advantage and continued to expand their lead. Fuata's kick save was in the middle of nine-point run.

"That was huge for us," Odessa College head coach Kristi Gray said. "Everybody went crazy. She brings a lot of energy to this team both defensively and offensively. She has a great spark and I'm very glad that she's here."

The Lady Wranglers increased their lead to 23-14 and they used that extra breathing room to stave off a late rally from Midland College. The Lady Chaps came within three, 23-20, but they committed an attack error and Fuata closed out the set with a kill.

The second set was a see-saw battle. The set was tied 10 times, but the Lady Wranglers eventually held a five-point, 19-14, lead. However, they couldn't close it out as Midland College scored 13 of the final 19 points in the set.

Makenzie Rainone said during the intermission between the second and third set the team forgot about the missed opportunity. Odessa College answered with wins in the third and fourth sets.

The Lady Wranglers clinched the third set with an attack error from Midland College and Rainone supplied the match-winning ace in the fourth. Rainone finished with 12 kills, six digs and four aces.

"We went back and forth, but in the end we pull out the win and that's all that matters," Rainone said.

Odessa College received contributions throughout the starting lineup and off the bench. Anna Rupertova, who entered Wednesday's match with a team-high 141 kills, chipped in seven off the bench, while Monica Muskat supplied six. Raevyn Kaupu posted 23 assists and Halley McKnight had a match-high 21 digs.

Midland College head coach Tammie Jimenez said the team play well in the first two sets, but didn't continue that trend during the third and fourth.

Luisa Nieto supplied a team-high 11 kills for the Lady Chaps, while Breann Schreiber added 10. Nieto also had 2.5 blocks and one ace. Lauren Hermes ended with 16 digs and Bailey Wright dished out 27 assists.

"We handled business for two sets," Jimenez said. "We did not handle business for the following two."

The Lady Wranglers continue their season hosting nonconference opponent Ranger College at 6 p.m. Friday. Gray said the team isn't setting its sights on the next conference match until after Friday's match.

"We are taking it one game at a time, so right now we are focusing on Ranger at home and practice (today)," Gray said with a smile.

Article by Royal McGregor OC