Parents, students and spectators trickled into Cosumnes River College’s Community and Athletic Center as CRC’s volleyball team prepared for a match against Susanville’s Lassen Community College on Sept. 11.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the game would end in disappointment, with a 3-0 loss.

Following the match, Minet Gunther, who has been coaching the team for 17 years, expressed her surprise at the results.

“I felt pretty good [coming into the match],” Gunther said. “Based on past history, we’ve done well against this team. So yeah, I was a little surprised we didn’t come out to play today with a lot more energy.”

From the beginning of the first set, the Hawks were off to a rough start. The Cougars gained an early lead and refused to give the Hawks any room to score.

By the time a second timeout was called, the score sat at 19-7 with Lassen leading. The Hawks would go on to score 3 more points before Lassen reached 25, ending the set at 25-10.

However, the second set showed that the Hawks weren’t prepared to surrender.

The team came back fighting, gaining an early 2-1 lead within a few minutes. The lead was short lived, but the teams continued to trade points and the Hawks refused to fall far behind.

The second set ended at a much closer 25-19, with the Hawks still unable to pull ahead.

The third set began as rough as the first had. Lassen racked up a quick 12-3 lead before CRC’s volleyball coach Minet Gunther called a timeout.

As the set continued, Lassen held their lead. The Hawks staged what seemed to be a possible comeback as freshman outside hitter Nancy Pacheco served three consecutive aces.

Despite the 23-16 lead Lassen had in the third set, CRC’s fans remained undaunted. Cheers of “You’ve got this girls!” and “It’s not over yet!” could be heard amongst the crowd.

The third set would end at 25-16 Lassen.

The Hawks ritualistically high-fived the other team as signs of good sportsmanship, with “good game” heard repeatedly. The few spectators supporting Lassen gave applause to their team then left as the gym fell into silence.

After the match, CRC’s co-volleyball coach Natalie Wells said the players would not be feeling up to commenting on the game, but that they would shortly be practicing to figure out why the match went the way it did.