In two years at There was a point before her freshman season that she was pretty close of going back home to
“I was confused when I came here. I came here in July [2006] and started taking ESL classes in basic reading and basic writing,” she said. “After those classes I wanted to go home because I was so confused because I didn’t know any English and I was scared. I was thinking I want to go home and be with my family,” Pacheco said. “But several people let me know it is good to stay here, to learn English and play volleyball and be on a good team. Sometimes I feel homesick because I don’t have my family and friends here, but at the same time it is good because I can study here, graduate in May and play volleyball. It is OK now.”
Thank goodness that Pacheco stayed at WNCC last season because Pacheco has emerged as one of the top setters ever at WNCC. In two seasons, she has led the Cougars to a 106-4 record. Come Thursday, Pacheco will try to put another exclamation point on her career when the Cougars head to the national tournament in
WNCC coach Chris Green said that Pacheco possibly could be one of the best setters to play at WNCC. Pacheco packs many weapons in her arsenal from being one of the top hitters on the team, the school record holder in ace serves, as well as someone that can play defense and block. Oh, by the way, she is one dandy setter as well.
“Every great team has to have a great setter and Soriana really does a great job for us. She is the quarterback and she makes the team run,” he said. “She is able to get the ball quickly to the hitters, which makes it very hard to stop. When we pass well and she has three options, our offense is very hard to stop. She is very deceptive as a setter and she also gets the ball to the hitter very quick, where the opposing team’s blockers have a hard time determining where the ball will go.”
Green said you won’t hear much from Pacheco on the court, she just goes about her business.
“She is not a very vocal person; she just quietly gets the job done,” he said. “She is very competitive and sometimes you don’t see that from her. She hates to lose and that is what you like to see in a setter.”
It is that quiet, deceptive play that Pacheco possesses that makes Green wonder if she isn’t the best setter to come through WNCC.
“Physically, I think she is one of the best to have come through here. She is not as vocal as we like, such as what Giovani [Melo] was or maybe not as much of a leader on the court as some of the other setters, but physically, she is 5-10 and she jumps well. She is able to attack. She is very versatile; maybe more versatile than any setter that we have had. She is also one of our better hitters on the team. We haven’t had that in a setter before. She really is a great athlete and physically one of the best that we have had.”
But one of the things that sets Pacheco apart this season is the talent that she is surrounded with.
“She led us to the runner-up finish last year and this year she has some great hitters around her so it is really hard to compare her to some of the other setters,” he said. “Offensively, I think we are more explosive then we have been in the past and she has a lot more hitters to work with.”
Pacheco’s volleyball success has already landed her a college scholarship at the next level at
“I never thought that I could play at a Division I school before coming here,” she said. “I am excited but at the same time scared to go to
Green believes that Pacheco will be a good fit for the
“I think she will be asked to do more things for them then she was doing here, maybe being a little bit more vocal,” he said. “I think she will do a great job for them. One of their main goals is to beat
Pacheco, though, doesn’t think too much about individual success; she has one goal in mind and that is to bring home a national title. After last season’s disappointing finish at the national tournament where they finished second in the nation and Pacheco was named a first-team NJCAA all-American, both Green and Pacheco aren’t looking for individual honors, they have one big team honor in mind – a national title.
“I don’t know if she thinks about those kind of things [individual honors and records]; she just goes about her business and gets the job done,” Green said. “She really didn’t have an idea of what was going to happen as a freshman. Now, as a sophomore, I think she has a better idea and I think that will be a big advantage for us at the national tournament. She has been there one year already and she knows what it takes. She definitely will be the person that will help us win matches this weekend.”
What makes Pacheco special is her vast volleyball talent. She already smashed the school season record for ace serves with 142, breaking the record set last season by Letica Kuhn of 136. She also has connected on 1,758 set assists, 484 points, 266 kills, 279 digs and 97 blocks. Besides the season ace kill record, Pacheco also holds the career service points record. She has served up 960 points in her two years, topping the record of 890 set by Brittany Isakson in 2003-04.
Pacheco’s volleyball skills started developing at a young age back in her home country of
In fact, it was by coincidence that Green called Pacheco in the spring of 2006. Green learned of Pacheco from Cougar baseball player Lanny Hernandez, who is also from
“I told my parents and they said it is your decision. If you want to go, go ahead,” Pacheco said. “Coach then sent me the paperwork such as the I20. I had three months to get a visa, passport and all the paperwork. I studied a course for two months for basic English in
“I have learned a lot of English in one year and I am not scared of the English language anymore. Right now I am so busy because my classes are getting hard. I have one more semester here and I am going crazy in my classes, and volleyball is almost over and I want to bring back the national championship. And, right now, I am going to do the best that I can and we want to bring back the national championship.”
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