It’s early in the season, and the Allan Hancock College women’s volleyball team is already off to a great start.
Only three games in, the Bulldogs are undefeated and have already tied last season’s total number of wins. The team has taken a promising first few steps and is being helped along in a big way by its outside hitter, Brianna Farley.
Farley is the team’s leading hitter, hitting .345, and she’s ranked 17th in the state for the California Community College Athletic Association, Bulldogs’ head coach Julio Molina said.
When the team took on Taft College in their season opener on Aug. 27, they came from behind and won 3-2. Farley knocked down 22 kills and scooped up 17 digs, according to Hancock’s website.
A few days later, the team went on to sweep Cerro Coso Community College 3-0, where Farley had nine kills and six digs. A sweep means the Bulldogs won every set during the match, scoring 25-14, 25-21, and 25-19 against Cerro Coso. Later that day, they played Taft for a second time and swept their opponent 3-0. Farley laid down eight kills and 12 digs.
“She’s very athletic, and she’s very smart,” Molina, said. “She understands what she needs to work on, and she doesn’t make the same mistake twice.”
Farley is a sophomore at Hancock and graduated from Cabrillo High School, where she started playing volleyball and learned to play in the middle.
When she joined the Bulldogs, she moved to outside hitter and had to adjust to a new position she had never played before. After a ton of drilling with her coach and learning the details of how to be an outside hitter, she grew more comfortable and confident at her new job, Molina said.
The difference can be seen in the Bulldogs’ performance this season compared to their last one. Last season the team finished 3-21. So far this year, their record stands at 3-0.
“This year I’ve definitely gotten more used to it,” Farley said about being an outside hitter. “I can get a bigger approach and transfer more power into my hits.”
Along with improving her own game, Farley’s experience has rubbed off on her teammates.
Brittany Bolusan is a freshman who also plays outside hitter and gets tips from her teammate. Bolusan said she gets frustrated with herself sometimes, but Farley is there to pick her back up.
“I look up to her because she’s really helped me,” Bolusan said. “She doesn’t just give me advice, she encourages me.”
Farley and Bolusan are teammates now, but in high school Bolusan went to Lompoc and the two were rivals. Both players agree that competing at the college level is more challenging than high school.
The pace is faster and players have to be tougher physically and mentally, Farley said.
This article appears in Sep 18-25, 2014.