SBCC started fast with a 30-19 win over first-place Long Beach on Friday night but the Vikings won a marathon second set and went on to post a 19-30, 35-33, 30-27, 30-26 men’s volleyball win at the Sports Pavilion.
“In the first two games, that’s the best volleyball I’ve seen from any team in either league (the Western State or Pacific Coast Conference),” said coach Melody Parker. “Our guys played perfect volleyball and it shows what we can do.”
Justin Hertlein had 19 kills and hit .515 for the Vaqueros (8-7, 3-5) while Miles Evans had 16 kills, a .444 hitting percentage and eight digs. Evans leads the state in kills per game at 4.8.
Andrew Thomason collected 10 digs, Jonathan Newton had five blocks and Kaahukane Leite-AyYo had 55 assists.
Long Beach (15-1, 9-0), the defending state champion, was led by 6-9 Kris Johnson and 6-6 Randy Preval.
SBCC used an 11-4 run in the first set and built a 24-15 lead on a block by Hertlein. The second set was close from start to finish. The Vaqueros had set point at 32-31 but couldn’t close it out. Santa Barbara led 24-22 in the third set before the visitors closed with an 8-3 run.
“We worked hard all week,” said Parker. “We had a former player come in, Armen Zakarian, who was all-conference and Athlete of the Year here about six years ago. He was always a great team leader and I put him with the starting lineup in practice. He showed the team how to have more energy and team chemistry and we came out and did that.”
“We came within six points of beating the top team in our league. This team has to get the most improved award. I’m pleased with our progress and our effort.”
The Vaqueros need to win their final two regular-season matches to have a chance at finishing third in the WSC and earning a playoff berth. They travel to Santa Monica on Wednesday and play host to second-place Moorpark on Friday.
