Vaqueros Stave off Three Match Points To Beat Long Beach
By Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara City College Men's Volleyball team (9-3, 3-1) won an instant classic on Friday night hosting Long Beach, a proper five setter—21-25, 25-21, 14-25, 25-22, 17-15.
A truly gutsy performance, the Vaqueros only hit .138 on the night but stayed in rallies to give themselves extra chances. Four different players had 10 digs, and four different players had five or more total blocks.
"This was another opportunity to test the resiliency of the team, especially when we feel like things just aren't going our way," head coach Bridget Kulesh said. "Our freshmen really stepped up this match. Gammon [Nilssen] has been primarily training on the right, but was able to move to the left and take on a heavier hitting load and serve receive, which he only occasionally does in game."
The first set did not go the hosts' way. Consistently down a few points, Long Beach earned a 25-21 victory to get ahead.
In the second set, Kulesh opted to change the lineup, as mentioned. Pin hitter Gammon Nilssen moved from opposite to outside hitter, and it eventually paid off. A 12-12 tie held to 20-20. From there, Keegan Hubbard had back-to-back kills followed by a huge block from Nick Schultz. The Vaqueros tied the score with a 25-21 second-set win.
Without the benefit of hindsight, the third set was a tough one for Santa Barbara. The score tied at 10, Long Beach went on a 15-4 run to close out the set, 25-14. The Vaqueros would have to win the final two sets to win the match.
The fourth set began 15-12 Long Beach, but similar to the second set, the Vaqueros eventually tied it at 21. Even better, they won four of the last five points—solo blocks from Mykolas Petritias and James Walker-Ziegler and then kills from Petritias and Hubbard pushed the match to a fifth set via a 25-22 victory.
"Our two freshmen setters, Ayden [Welch] and Devon [Russell], found their rhythm, especially in the middle," Kulesh said. "By the end of the fourth set, they looked comfortable setting all of our hitters."
For all the electric volleyball to that point, the fifth set predictably elevated the match. Things were not looking good as Long Beach had three match points, leading 14-11. The visitors could not close it out, however, as two hitting errors sandwiched a Walker-Ziegler kill; thus, the set was destined for extra points, tied at 14 apiece. Nilssen's kill completed four in a row for the Vaqueros, and forced match point of their own. Long Beach kept the match alive, but a Hubbard kill forced match point number two. Nilssen ultimately earned the match-winning point, capping off a crazy, long rally with a kill off the block. The Vaqueros took home the victory thanks to a 17-15 fifth-set win.
Nilssen's 15 kills were a Vaquero-best, and he earned a double-double with 10 digs, too. Petritias also accomplished the feat with 10 kills and 10 digs.
Hubbard led the team with eight total blocks (one solo) and had the best hitting percentage, hitting .368 (8-1-19).
Setter Devon Russell had 10 digs and 25 assists, and libero Luke Steinert rounded out the group of four Vaqueros with 10 digs.
"Another shoutout to Andre Yarme, who took over the libero position when Luke suffered a minor leg strain," Kulesh said proudly. "He stayed level-headed and knew exactly what to do when he stepped on the court."
Conference play continues for the Vaqueros on Wednesday night at Moorpark. They return to Rob Gym on Friday at 6 p.m. hosting Antelope Valley.