Vikings Outlast Santa Monica in Five-Set Battle, 3-2

The Long Beach City College men's volleyball team battled through a five-set match and came away with a 3-2 win over Santa Monica College Friday night at the Hall of Champions.

After dropping a close first set 25-23, the Vikings responded with a strong 25-21 win in the second to even the match. Santa Monica regained the lead with a 25-15 third set, but Long Beach answered again in the fourth, taking it 25-20 to force a deciding fifth set. In that final set, the Vikings pulled away late to secure the match with a 15-11 victory.

Noah Pannek led the offense with 12 kills and five blocks, while Ethan Hammond and Ezekiel Sablan each added 11 kills. Manu Lill chipped in eight kills, and Alden Jacobs contributed nine kills and six digs.

At setter, Ryder Tuaolo recorded 35 assists along with seven digs, while Xian Gonzalez added 18 assists.

Defensively, Sergio Garcia anchored the back row with 27 digs as the Vikings totaled 68 digs as a team. At the net, Long Beach finished with 12 total blocks.

The Vikings will return to action on the road at Fullerton College, with first serve set for 6:00 p.m.