The volleyball team is playing against Long Beach City College for the first time this season on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in an away contest.

The women have been working hard in improving and bettering their skills for their game on Wednesday, just as much as any other game.

The team currently holds a 5-6 overall record and a 2-1 conference record.

With Long Beach City College being a part of the conference, the game means a little more to the women this time around.

Brianna Gutierrez, middle blocker, explained how the team has been preparing for its game against Long Beach City College, “We just had our last game against El Camino (College) and I personally think that every single game is like practice to us as well as (to) prepare us for our next game. We always find new ways and techniques to communicate with each other and to progress and strengthen our weaknesses.”

Sara Hickman, right-side hitter and middle blocker, explained how she felt playing against a team that her team has not played against in the past, “I look at it as a new team every different time, so I am ready for whatever they bring because sometimes a lot of teams are different, so you do not know what to expect.”

Hickman later added that as a player, she has learned to play wisely from previous games.

“For the first conference it is going to be very tough, because you know, they are very tough games. We want to win and they want to win, and it is going to be very tough because we have the same kind of team, so we just have to work hard and see if we can beat them at our game this Wednesday,” head coach Teresa Velasquez said.

Velasquez also commented on the abilities of Long Beach City College’s team, “…We know that they have two outside hitters who are very strong, but their defense, probably that is their weakness. I can tell from what I have heard from scrimmages.”

Velasquez said the women are working on their skills and are currently working as a team to fix past mistakes that have been made in previous games. She claimed to be both ready and excited as are the women.

“Hopefully, the (women) have the spirit to win and hopefully, they step up there and do what they can do,” Velasquez added.