The City College men’s volleyball team lost to El Camino College in a four set match with a final score of 3-1 Friday night in the Sports Pavilion.
After a quick exchange of low fives, the first set consisted of a constant tie between the Vaqueros and Warriors.
According to freshman libero Kealakahi Spain (No.1) the team struggles on keeping their focus in the game. Even in practice they sometimes have their difficulties. Some days the team will be really into it and some days they just aren’t.
“You know you think you got them and then the next thing you know they come out swinging, we just got to play to the best of our abilities, and sometimes we don’t,” Spain said. “There’s always a next game and the next practice but from here on out it’s just focusing on the next thing.”
Ultimately, the Vaqueros came out on top with a total of 15 kills and one error leading to a final score of 27-25 in the first set.
In set two, the Vaqueros maintained a lead after a strong rally when Sean Reynaert (No.11) killed the ball making the score 17-12.
A defensive dig by Jonathan Baldwin (No.6) launched the ball towards Spain. This play set the ball for a kill by Quinlan Dougherty (No.13) and brought the match to a 19-19 tie.
The Warriors fought for the last points leaving the final score of the set 26-24.
Reynaert led the team with 15 kills and no errors for a .445 hitting percentage in the game. Dougherty came in with 12 kills and a .276 hitting percentage.
“We lost our energy and killed our fire [and] the other team gained some momentum and took advantage of it,” Dougherty said. “That’s really what led to our loss.”
The City College team fell short in set three with nine kills, two errors and a .250 hitting percentage that led to final score 25-20.
Head coach Jon Newton said the team played really well in the first and second set, but then the teams fight and competitive spirit just went away.
In set four, the Vaqueros were unable to gain the lead with eight kills, seven errors and a .045 hitting percentage. The refs blew the final whistle ending the match with a score of 25-16.
“Stay focused, stay in the battle, keeping that mentality through the whole two hours instead of 45 minutes,” Newton said.
The final scores were 27-25, 24-26, 20-25, 16-25.
The Vaqueros are currently ranked ninth in the state and the Warriors seventh.
The next home game will be against Long Beach City College at 6:00 p.m. Friday, March 3 in the Sports Pavilion.
