Long Beach City College men’s volleyball team were matched up with El Camino College 3-1 on March 27, and defeated them with a score of 25-16, 25-18, 19-25, and 21-25 with the Vikings improving to a 12-3 record.
The first two sets were won easily by Long Beach and another sweep for the team seemed eminent, but for the third set, El Camino brought their game out.
The Vikings made costly serving mistakes when the third set began, either serving the ball out of bounds, or easily blocked shots at the net.
Head coach Jonathan Charette expressed his concerns about the mistakes that caused the Vikings the third set.
“We were getting stopped at the net and not hustling enough to get to the ball. Our serves needed to be fixed because they were all too strong.”
“Our blockers were in position, but their guys brought out their energy as well,” said Charette.
Kyle Anema, who had 20 kills on the game, knew that he had his work cut out for him.
“El Camino gave us problems at the net, but what we had to aim for was the back. They always left the back exposed, so I took that as an advantage to get my kills back there.”
“We had to take whatever chance we had to take the win,” said Anema.
Opposing hitter Uriel Batista also contributed to the victory by having 12 kills throughout the game.
“This is more than volleyball, we treat this as a brotherhood. We watch each other’s back as we play the game and even outside of the game.”
“Our communication is what also was a factor for the win,” said Bautista.
The fourth set was a test for both teams, and the score was kept close the entire set.
In the end, the Vikings took home the hard-fought win against El Camino 25-21.
The Vikings are scheduled to play their next game against the Moorpark Raiders on April 10 at 6pm.