March 30, 2007
Men’s Volleyball:
Long Beach bounces back from loss with sweep of rival Pierce
Long Beach City College men’s volleyball coach Randy Totorp didn’t know what to expect tonight as his team hosted rival L.A. Pierce College.
On Wednesday, the Vikings suffered a 3-2 loss at El Camino College to snap their 30-game winning streak.
He didn’t know how his team would react to the disheartening loss, and then have to come right back to play one of their toughest matches of the season.
But the Vikings bounced back they best way they know how, taking out their frustrations on Pierce by sweeping the visiting Brahmas 3-0 in a key Western State Conference match on Friday.
The Vikings took game 1 30-27, cruised to a 30-17 win in game 2, and then had to come-from-behind in the third game to prevail 35-33.
Pierce (8-5, 4-3 WSC) led Long Beach 22-18 in game 3 and was one point away at 29-27 from forcing a fourth game. But the Vikings tied the game at 30 and eventually rallied to pull out the win.
Sophomore outside hitter Naseri Tumanuvao had another standout night, leading the Vikings with 19 kills and three blocks. Six of those kills came in game 3.
Sophomore outside hitter Derrick Seay also had a huge night, collecting a team-high 11 digs to go with 15 kills and two blocks. Freshman libero Bojan Vucicevic added a match-best 20 digs.
Totorp was proud how his team reacted following the loss.
“The loss on Wednesday played a lot into how we played tonight,” he said. “There was a big chance for a letdown and I think the guys felt pressure on themselves for the first time this season.
“Despite the loss, we didn’t change anything. We had the same practice on Thursday and played our same game tonight. The way they bounced back shows a lot about this team’s character. We were upset that the streak was snapped, but our No. 1 goal all season long is to win state and that hasn’t changed.”
With the win, the Vikings improved to 13-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play. LBCC hosts Santa Barbara City College in its final regular season home match next Wednesday (Apr. 4) at 6 pm. |
