The Odessa College volleyball team had very little to complain about from its opening weekend in Roswell, N.M.
The Lady Wranglers began the season on a promising note, going 4-0 in the two-day tournament.
Odessa College only dropped one set from the entire tournament as the team posted victories over Utah State (winning 3-0), South Mountain Community College (3-0), No. 13-ranked Eastern Arizona College (3-0) and Tyler Junior College (3-1).
“I can’t complain,” Odessa College head coach Dayana Acevedo-Rios said. “I think the girls did really well. During preseason, they don’t know how good they are but they might have those doubts. They haven’t played anybody else. But when we went out there, the girls came on super strong. We were in control the whole time. It was fun to see. We have some tough competition this week as well. We’ll see how we can learn from last week and move on.”
The only set that the Lady Wranglers lost was in the team’s final game against Tyler Junior College, dropping the third set 27-25 before Odessa College took the fourth set 25-11 to finish the job.
The rest of the weekend was flawless and Acevedo-Rios said it gave her a chance to experiment with the lineup.
“It was fun because we got to try different lineups,” Acevedo-Rios said. “I try to give everyone a chance in different sets. It was fun to see everyone bring something different. They can make an impact no matter what.”
“I feel like this one is going to be a little bit tougher. It’ll be tougher competition. We’ll be playing at home which can be a great thing but also a crazy thing. We have teams that have always been athletic and tall and dynamic. I think the teams we faced last weekend are going to be completely different than the ones we will face this weekend. I’m excited to see how well we can adjust.”
>> Home sweet home: The Lady Wranglers will be at home this weekend for the Odessa Invitational.
The tournament will take place Friday and Saturday at the OC Sports Center.
The Lady Wranglers’ first game will be against Hill College at noon Friday before facing Indian Hills Community College at 6 p.m.
Odessa College will continue with an 11 a.m. contest against Snow College on Saturday before finishing up later in the day with a 5 p.m. game against Panola College.
“It’s amazing,” Acevedo-Rios said. “The girls get to sleep in their own beds. They get to keep their same routines. If there’s a big break in between games, the girls can go back to their dorms and rest. We don’t have to go to a hotel or get food. It’s nice to keep our same routine.”
Snow College enters this weekend ranked No. 16 in the NJCAA rankings.
>> Speaking of rankings: There was a curious omission from the top-25 NJCAA preseason rankings as the Lady Wranglers didn’t make the list.
That’s no problem to Acevedo-Rios.
“I think rankings at the end of the day, especially preseason, don’t mean a thing because they’re based on last year,” Acevedo-Rios said. “I told the girls that it doesn’t matter if we’re first in the nation or last, we have to take care of our side and prove to ourselves each week that we’re getting better. It’s not how you start but how you end.”
