SBCC mens volleyball dominated its second game in two days after a sweep of Grossmont College 3-0 at the Sports Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
City College enjoyed a win in which everyone took part. It was the last game before the Vaqueros head into conference play after a very tough non conference schedule.
“It helps us because we get to see what’s out there,” said head coach Jon Newton. “It helps us with the competition we see. There are a lot of teams down south that are very good and we’ll have to see those teams in the playoffs if we make it.”
The Vaqueros started off the first set strong, jumping out to a 7-4 lead. They stayed on the gas and finished the first set 25-19.
City College offense was led by outside hitter Haward Gomes (No.4) as he finished the game with 15 kills.
“We definitely played good with high energy, but we can always play better,” Gomes said. “We always want to protect home court that’s why we came out with some much energy.”
The Vaqueros started the second set on fire, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. Then Grossmont raced back into the game and trailed just 13-12 off a few City College errors. But the Vaqueros would gather themselves and finish the set strong, winning 25-22.
Kyle Skinner, attacker for the Vaqueros, spikes the ball against Grossmont College, on March 10, at the Sports Pavilion. The Vaqueros won the set 25-23.
The team got great production from outside hitter Kyle Skinner (No.14) who finished the game with 14 kills, as well as setter Adam Simonetti (No.12) as he finished the game with 23 assists.
“I thought we played really consistent,” Simonetti said. “When you play a team that is not as skilled as you it’s hard to keep that level of play and we did a good job of that.”
The Vaqueros entered the third set with a lot of players that don’t see much game time, and the team went back and forth until Grossmont took the lead 10-8. Then the Vaqueros scored five straight points to take the lead 13-10. City College finished it off with a kill by Gomes to win the set 25-23.
“We played really well,” Newton said. “It was better and were moving in the right direction which is nice to see, especially going into conference.”
This is the second straight sweep for the Vaqueros as they swept Santiago Canyon College Friday night. City College has now won two straight after losing their last two to Long Beach City and Orange Coast College who are the top two teams in the state.
After playing five of the top seven teams in the state, the Vaqueros are ready to use its experience from a tough non conference schedule for their conference schedule.
“We’re excited and we have been waiting for this all year,” Gomes said. We have put a lot of work in the gym and a lot of reps and we’re ready.”
The Vaqueros improve to 8-3 on the year and will next play its conference opener Friday, March 16 against Antelope Valley at the Sports Pavilion.
