Men's Volleyball Hosts Alumni Night, Honors Olmstead and Zelko

By Jimmy Friery

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Men's Volleyball team hosted their Alumni Game on Saturday with more than two dozen alumni participating. Two special honorees were in attendance—Rick Olmstead and Steve Zelko—in their familiar places.

Olmstead was the R1, as he has been many times in Rob Gym, while Zelko was coaching the current Santa Barbara team. Both men received special plaques made partially out of the floor at the old Sports Pavilion where they each dedicated so much of their time.

"Rick Olmstead had an incredible coaching career at SBCC," head coach Bridget Kulesh said, "and remains the only coach in program history to win a men's volleyball state championship (in 1983). He continues to stay connected to the program today as a referee."

Olmstead's son, Shawn, is the head coach at No. 8 BYU. Ironically, the Cougars play at UCSB this coming Thursday and Friday night, so a different Olmstead will be participating in that contest.

Zelko, who is familiar with Rob Gym from his time as a Gaucho player, has been an assistant coach at SBCC since 2011.

"SBCC and Steve Zelko go hand in hand—every alum who took the court had Steve as an assistant coach," Kulesh said. "He was truly the star of the show."

As for the match, John Newton coached the former Vaqueros to a 3-2 victory on a fun night in UCSB's Rob Gym.

"The match was a great opportunity for our team to compete against an incredibly talented group of players and experience playing in Rob Gym for the first time. We're excited to begin our season," Kulesh said excitedly.

After a trip to the 3C2A state semifinals last season, this year's Vaqueros are poised for another strong year on the notoriously bouncy Rob Gym floor. Their first official match is Wednesday at Santiago Canyon before hosting Orange Coast on Friday at 6:00 p.m.