Vikings Upset Vaqueros in Straight Sets to Advance to State Championship
Long Beach delivered their most dominant performance of the season Thursday night against Santa Barbara.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
|
18 | 20 | 15 | 0 |
Team Stats
Santa Barbara
| Game Statistics | Long Beach | Santa Barbara |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .465 | .071 |
| Blocks | 10.0 | 1.0 |
| Digs | 31 | 25 |
| Aces | 4 | 2 |
The Long Beach City College Vikings delivered one of their most dominant performances of the season, sweeping past Santa Barbara City College, 3-0, in the 3C2A Men's Volleyball State Championship semifinals Thursday night in the Hall of Champions and avenging two five-set losses to Santa Barbara in the regular season.
Behind an overwhelming offensive showing and strong play at the net, the Vikings rolled to a 25-18, 25-20, 25-15 victory over the Vaqueros.
The Vikings were nearly unstoppable offensively, finishing with 47 kills and just seven errors for an impressive .465 hitting percentage. Long Beach improved as the match went on, hitting .467 in the first set and an outstanding .625 in the third to close things out.
Ezekiel Sablan led the way with a match-high 13 kills, while Alden Jacobs turned in a stellar performance with 11 kills on a .526 hitting percentage along with two service aces. Ethan Hammond recorded 11 kills on .588 hitting and adding five total blocks. Noah Pannek contributed seven kills while making his presence felt at the net with four total blocks, including three solo. Manu Lill added five kills on .571 hitting and chipped in 10 digs in a strong all-around effort.
At setter, Ryder Tuaolo controlled the tempo of the match with 38 assists, spreading the ball effectively on offense and keeping the Santa Barbara defense off balance all night.
While Long Beach's offense was clicking, the Vikings' defense and blocking limited Santa Barbara to just 25 kills and a .071 hitting percentage. Long Beach totaled 15 team blocks, consistently disrupting the Vaqueros' attack.
Santa Barbara was led by Mykolas Petritias, who finished with nine kills, while Greyson Goldberg added seven. However, the Vikings' defensive pressure proved too much to overcome.
With the win, Long Beach (18-8) advances to the 3C2A State Championship match against Golden West (23-3) this Saturday, April 25th at 7:00 PM. The Vikings will benefit from the homecourt advantage as LBCC is this years 3C2A Men's Volleyball State Championships host.