Long Beach City College’s low percentage of converting on kill attempts going into the final two sets leads to the team’s fifth straight loss to open the season as Vikings lost 3-2 against Orange Coast College in their home opener.
Sophomore, opposite hitter and middle blocker Shane Nhem had 12 kills on the night but also struggled with errors as he led the team with 10.
“We have the skill, we have the heart, it’s just that we get down on ourselves too much throughout the game and we really can’t bring ourselves out of that hole,” Nhem said about what he felt was the reason for the team’s early lack of success.
Through the first three sets of the contest, both LBCC and OCC kept it close, with OCC winning the first set by only two points and LBCC winning the second set by two and the third by three.
In the fourth set, OCC came out with the set win and the largest victory margin of the night with a 10-point difference.
OCC dominated this set with kills as the team converted on 12 of its 17 kill attempts.
In the night’s final set, OCC spoiled the Vikings’ home opener as a 15-10 set win would lead to the continuation of LBCC’s losing streak to open the season.
Nhem’s statement proved to be true as the Vikings could not find the right rhythm after a crushing fourth-set blowout.
After the game, Vikings’ first-year head coach Angel Nikolov declined to comment on the game and had assistant coach Jason Kwak speak instead.
“I think we as a team are pretty young, so we have a lot of growing to do and figuring out. Something that a common thing amongst all of our losses has been is that we were very resilient. So we’re seeing flashes of what we can do. And every match that’s been going on all the way to the end has been getting closer and closer, so that’s something we’re looking forward to keep building on,” Kwak stated.
The Vikings ended up finding their groove in the next contest as well as their first win of the season by shutting out Fullerton College in a 3-0 victory.
LBCC will look to build off of that win and look to win two straight as the Vikings take on Santa Barbara College in a conference matchup at home in their next game on February 28.