The Vikings defeated El Camino College 3-0 on Friday wrapping up their outstanding regular season by winning their 16th game in a row
The Vikings struck first in the first set and never looked back resulting in a 25-19 first set victory.
Freshman hitter Matthew Pennala led the team with six kills in the first set.
The second set was a much different story. It was a back and forth affair ending with the Vikings making the last run and winning the set 25-23
Near the end of the set, freshman middle Cian Slade and freshman hitter Georgi Binev put up strong blocks to secure the final two points and the set victory.
“The first couple sets we just came out a little bit slow, and it was hard for us to climb out of that hole that we dug ourselves into,” Pennala said, “but by the third set we just had to recenter and refocus ourselves.”
The Vikings did just that in the third set as they ended the game strong with a 25-17 win.
Pennala once again dominated in kills in the third set and also assisted in some crucial blocks with freshman opposite hitter Lucca Mamone.
With the Vikings struggling to land their serves, they had to be extra solid on defense to combat the Warriors’ attacks in order to secure the win in the final set, which they did.
“It was a great way to end our conference with this win here against El Camino at the location that’s going to be hosting playoffs,” Vikings Head Coach Jonathan Charette said.
The win over El Camino added to the Vikings’ winning streak putting them at 16 consecutive wins and holding their spot at number one in the state at the community college level.
Over this 16 game win streak the Vikings have not lost a set.
“We need to just have a better next play mentality, I think we were holding on to some mistakes a little too long, so we are going to need to have that skill when we start the playoffs,” Charette said.
The Vikings are going into the playoffs with a target on their backs, as everyone is going to want to be the team to break their winning streak and take them out of the playoffs.
“We need to remember to stay vigilant, stay humble, but also stay hungry as well,” said Pennala.
The Vikings kickoff their playoff run this Friday against Santa Monica College at 6:00 p.m. at El Camino college.