Comets first set win not enough against Griffins

EL CAJON, CA (3/23/2022) -- Palomar faced Grossmont College for the second round of PCAC play on Wednesday night and lost 3-1. The Comets jumped out to a one set lead and fought hard to get their first conference win of the season, but the win just slipped past them.

In the first set, the match was back and forth until sophomore Josh Hixon got a kill off a set from freshman Biram Platte and then turned around and two service aces back-to-back. The Griffins called a timeout and threw Hixon off his groove, then serving the ball into the net. Freshman Elliot Winter picked up another point off a set from Platte. With the score 16-14, the Comets went on for another three straight points thanks to a kill by sophomore Konnor Rose followed by a service ace by him and an attack error by the Griffins. Rose brought down the hammer for the set point off a set from Platte to give the Comets the set win. 

Palomar continued the momentum into the second set, and were leading 21-14, but were thrown off and could not get back into the flow from set one and dropped the set 26-24. 

Hixon finished the night with 17 kills on 44 total attacks while Rose finished with 10 on 39 attacks. Platte had 34 assists to go with a team-high 13 digs on the night. Hixon also led the team with three service aces. Freshmen Joey Scott and Elijah Vannoy both finished the night with three assisted blocks, while Rose finished with four. 

The Comets move to 2-10 on the season and 0-5 in PCAC play. They will back in action on Friday against San Diego Mesa College for their final homestand of the season. First serve will be at 6 p.m.