Men's and Women's Water Polo look strong heading into NorCal Tournament

The Sierra College men's and women's water polo teams both competed at American River College in the Big 8 Conference Tournament this past weekend and both squads have played well as of late.

The men's team has won four of its last six games including a 12-10 victory over Modesto on Thursday. The Wolverines trailed 6-1 early in the third quarter before scoring five straight goals to tie it going into the fourth. Sierra went down yet again 10-6, but scored six straight goals to win the match. Prior to the win on Thursday, the Wolverines beat Merced and lost to West Valley on Oct. 27. In the loss to West Valley, Petar Markovic scored four goals in the match.

"As a new player, it was honestly hard for me to fit in, but the team has helped me a lot," Markovic said. "We have a goal as a team that we set on the first day, we will try to do our best. My personal goal is to try to do my best to help my teammates achieve the best possible result."

Sierra is 13-12 and will travel to the College of Marin on Friday for the start of the NorCal Championship Tournament.

On the women's side, the Lady Wolverines beat Fresno and Modesto on Saturday at ARC, outscoring both teams by a combined 43-11. Freshman Bailey Hollick scored six goals in both games while Ally Boudreaux added six goals of her own against Fresno. Breyenne Pierce and Heidi Green both scored four goals in the win over Modesto. Goalkeeper Tui Arama combined for 23 saves in the two matches. 

"I think the main thing that has contributed to mine and my teams' attacking success over the last few games is our teamwork and our hard work," Holick said. "We've been really on to looking for the extra pass and being confident in our offense. For me, my biggest individual goal is to stay positive. We've got some really tough games so it will be exciting to see how we progress as a team."

The Wolverines are 18-5 and will face Delta on Friday.