After outlasting first-place L.A. Pierce in the opening set, SBCC dropped three straight to the Brahmas in a WSC men’s volleyball match at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 25-27, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21.
Dakota Smith had 14 kills and Davis Grininger and Aquiles Montoya added eight apiece from the middle for Santa Barbara (4-10, 1-6). Jarred Lincoln had 18 digs and Drew Hogan handed out 33 assists.
Pierce improved to 9-5 and 6-1.
“It was a tough one and it’s the same old story,” said SBCC coach Armen Zakarian. “These guys haven’t figured it out. We just don’t know what it takes to win.
The Vaqueros built a 19-12 lead in the first set on kills by Smith and Collin Cohen. Then the Brahmas stormed back with an 8-0 run that gave them a 21-20 lead. Both teams had a set point before Smith ended it with a cross-court kill.
“Pierce cut into our lead and got it close in that first set,” said Zakarian. “As soon as they got close, that exact same seed of doubt got planted into our heads. It was nice that we gutted it out but Pierce showed they were here to play.”
Pierce enjoyed leads of 15-9 and 18-13 in the second set before the Vaqueros pulled within one at 20-19 on a tip shot by Davis Grininger. The Brahmas closed it out with a 6-3 run.
The visitors broke open a 16-16 tie in the third set with a 6-2 burst. They jumped ahead 9-3 and 17-10 in the final set.
“Our passing broke down and our guys weren’t mentally ready to grind out a match,” Zakarian added. “We’re struggling to find a win right now.”
The Vaqueros travel to Moorpark on Friday.
