Kulesh Wins Coach of the Year, Three Vaqueros Make First Team

By Jimmy Friery

After the conclusion of their historic season, the Santa Barbara City College Men's Volleyball team was well-represented in the 3C2A Northern Division All-Conference selections announced on Thursday. Head coach Bridget Kulesh was named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, along with three First Team selections.

Make that two out of three years that Kulesh has won Coach of the Year since taking over the program; she also won it in 2025. This year, she led the Vaqueros to their second consecutive State Semifinal appearance. The team's 19 wins were the most in 36 years, also winning their first conference title in 21 years.

Mykolas Petritias made the First Team while breaking the program's single-season kills record. He had 308 of them (3.54 per set), the third most in the state. His 45 aces were the second most in school history, amounting to 0.52 aces per set—second in the state. Defensively, his 135 digs were second on the team.

6-foot-8 middle blockers Nick Schultz and Keegan Hubbard also made the First Team. The pair were vying for the single-season program record in total blocks after they both beat the previous record of 78. In the end, Hubbard's 90 (14 solo) outpaced Schultz's 83, although Schultz's 1.12 per set was good for fifth in the state.

Also fifth in the state was Hubbard's blistering .410 hitting percentage. He was second on the team in kills (147) with just 35 errors on 273 attempts. For reference, that is a 6-1-11 average across his 24 matches.

Schultz was not far behind those numbers, either. The Dos Pueblos graduate ended with a 146-33-278 line, equaling a .406 hitting percentage. He was second on the team with 14 aces.