Strong practices usually lead to sharp play but that wasn’t the case for the SBCC men’s volleyball team, which dropped a 30-28, 30-22, 30-23 decision to Orange Coast on Wednesday night.
Tyson Rietz led the Vaqueros (2-2) with 16 kills while Chris Newcomb had 11 and Mark Hebda added seven. Orange Coast (2-2) knocked SBCC out in the first round of the playoffs last year and went on to finish second in the state to Irvine Valley.
“I felt this team was very beatable,” said Vaquero coach Melody Parker. “After the practice we had last night, I thought they would come out here and take care of business. They were a different team today. I don’t know even know who they were.”
Setter Justin Conmy had 31 assists and libero Jim Wieblebnicki collected 14 digs. The Vaqueros fell behind 9-3 and 6-1 in the first two sets and didn’t take a lead until Newcomb’s ace put them up 5-4 in the third set.
The Vaqueros rallied to tie the opener at 27 before the visitors scored three of the last four points.
“They were quiet, tenative and didn’t seem real confident,” said Parker. “Last night, they were firing and they were vocal.
“Orange Coast was a better blocking team than we’ve been up against,” she added. Our hitters are starting to see where we need to hit the ball. We have to go around the brick wall, not through it.
“It’s not such a bad thing sometimes to lose big-time early in the season because then you come in a little more focused and willing to make changes.”
