SBCC captured the first two sets of its men’s volleyball season opener on Wednesday night but Irvine Valley rallied for a 3-2 victory over the visiting Vaqueros. The scores were 18-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-13.
Sophomore Collin Cohen led SBCC with 17 kills. Aquiles Montoya had 12 kills and two blocks while Johnny Brand contributed 10 kills.
Dakota Smith did a little of everything with eight kills, seven digs, four blocks and four aces. Setter Drew Hogan had 44 assists and three blocks. Jarred Lincoln also had seven digs.
“We were missing a couple of key players,” said coach Armen Zakarian. “For our first match on the road, the boys looked pretty good. We hit .400 in the fifth game but Irvine Valley just played a little bit better.”
Santa Barbara makes its home debut on Friday when Orange Coast visits for a 6 p.m. match.
