A superior performance in the second set wasn’t enough for SBCC on Saturday night as Long Beach swept the Vaqueros 3-0 in a WSC men’s volleyball match at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 25-17, 28-26, 25-17.
Coach Armen Zakarian inserted three different starters in the second set and the Vaqueros (4-6, 1-2) responded with a top-notch effort.
“Our starters came out flat (in the first set) and were playing as individuals,” explained Zakarian. “I put a different lineup out there and they brought some major energy and gave us a spark.”
With Brock Skriloff, Logan Wais and Juan Reyes in the lineup, SBCC built a 19-15 lead and fought off two set points before creating a set point of their own (26-25) on a kill by Cody Zoesch.
The taller Vikings (9-2, 4-0) reeled off three straight points, however, to take the set and built a 16-9 lead in the third set on the way to their eighth straight win. Devon Taylor led LBCC with 14 kills.
There were 19 ties and 11 lead changes in the entertaining second set.
“Wais has been out the last 3-4 weeks with a back strain and we’re trying to work him back in there,“ said Zakarian. “It was great to see that group play so well. They earned some playing time.
“Our serve receive was awful tonight. If we can‘t pass the ball well, then our middle blockers will only get six kills combined and that‘s not where we want to be.”
Justin Hertlein had seven kills and Skriloff added six for SBCC, which had trouble hitting against a taller Viking lineup that featured players standing 6-6, 6-8 and 6-9. Zoesch had four stuff blocks.
“Long Beach is the best team in conference and they haven’t lost a conference match in several years,” Zakarian noted.
The Vaqueros travel to Santa Monica on Wednesday before returning home to take on defending state champion Moorpark on Friday.
