Vaqueros outlast Irvine Valley in five-set thriller

Taylor McCluskey had a season-high 21 kills on Friday afternoon and SBCC rallied for a 3-2 men's volleyball win at Irvine Valley. The scores were 22-25, 25-20, 25-25, 16-25, 19-17.

The Vaqueros are off to a 5-2 start for the third straight season. It was also the third 3-2 win over the Lasers (3-3) in the last three years.

McCluskey hit .308 and also had 10 digs.

Haward Gomes added 10 kills and 10 digs while Robert Gulvin had seven kills and seven blocks. Jackson Wopat produced eight kills and nine digs and Kyle Smiley distributed 42 assists for the second straight match. The Vaqueros ended the second set on a 10-5 run and broke open a tight third set with a 7-3 closing spurt.

"We had another slow start, then steadied out in the second and third sets," said coach Matt Jones. "We got in a bad rotation in the fourth set, then fell behind 3-0 in the fifth on three straight aces by their setter.

"We took an 8-7 lead at the side change and were up 14-13 (in the fifth set to 15 points, win by two). It was a back-and-forth battle from there and we never allowed them a match point."

On the fifth match point for the Vaqueros, Matt Bohorquez delivered a tough serve with his team leading 18-17. The Lasers hit a free ball back and it landed out to end the 2-hour, 15-minute match.

The Vaqueros will open WSC play on Wednesday when they host Long Beach at 6 p.m. The Vikings are 7-2 with seven straight wins after a 3-0 sweep at San Diego City on Friday night.