Moorpark tops Vaqueros 3-1

SBCC had late leads in the last three sets on Friday but couldn't finish the job in a 3-1 men's volleyball loss to Moorpark at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 25-18, 26-24, 21-25, 25-22.

Evan Yoshimoto led Santa Barbara with 14 kills and nine digs. Gabriel Ospina posted season bests of eight kills and 10 digs while middle hitter Davis Grininger had seven putaways and eight blocks, including two solo.

The Vaqueros (6-6, 1-4 WSC) had set point at 24-23 in the second set but the Raiders (6-6, 3-2) went on a 5-1 run to take a 2-0 lead. Santa Barbara erased a 19-15 deficit in the third set, closing with a 10-2 burst behind the strong play of Ospina, Grininger and Owen Yoshimoto.

Junior Too, a 6-3 freshman middle blocker from San Lorenzo, led in blocks with a season-high nine and Carl Mendoza made 21 digs. Setter Drew Hogan, returning from an injury, entered early in the third set and finished with 18 assists.

"We struggled to close out sets again," said coach Matt Jones. "We did get over the hump a little bit in the third set, which was nice to see. We're making too many hitting errors late in the set and that makes it tough.

"Drew was coming back from a thumb injury and couldn't block in practice yesterday. We were unsure if he would play. Corey (McDown) did fine at setter and Drew gave us a lift when he came in."

The fourth set was close throughout until SBCC went on a 6-2 run for a 20-17 lead. The streak was capped by a kill from Ospina and a block by Ospina and Too. But Moorpark had the answer again, finishing with an 8-2 burst to win the set 25-22.

Sean Ring led the Raiders with 12 kills and Nicholas Shoemate had 11.

"Gabriel played some nice backrow defense, especially in the fourth set," Jones noted. "He had some nice swings.

"The other team served pretty well and we didn't serve with a ton of pressure. They won that battle."

The Vaqueros travel to Long Beach on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. match.