The City College men’s volleyball team defeated Moorpark College 3-1 in its seventh home game this season Friday in the Sports Pavilion gym.
Moorpark College and City College fought tooth and nail, trailing behind each other for the greater portion of the match.
The game started off gritty— both teams displayed how competitive they can be. Each team held a lead of at least two points before coming to a tie multiple times in the first set. Moorpark’s harsh serves and solid kills threw the Vaqueros off, losing the set 25-27 after the ball went out of bounds.
Coming back from a harrowing loss against Orange Coast College last week, the team maintained its composure as the Raiders heckled from the sidelines.
“We can keep up with any team we play against,” said freshman middle blocker Austin Lind.
The second set moved fast, but the Vaqueros caught on to Moorpark’s intensity. Reaching 20-18 in what seemed like only a few minutes, both teams continually challenged each other.
The second set reached a peak at the final few points. The crowd roared as Moorpark’s Alfonso Gonzalez and Tim Kolodny raced to the edge of the court in an attempt to return the ball, leaving the game at 25-24 and the third time-out of the second set. The set finished at 26-24.
Knowing they have only two sets left to claim their title, the Vaqueros returned from half-time more calculated than before. While the Raiders shouted chants from across the sidelines, City College chose to focus on the game instead.
“They can talk as much trash as they want,” Lind said. “But at the end of the day if we’re coming out with a win, their trash-talking didn’t really do much.”
Apparently, focusing on themselves was what it took to steal the rest of the game.
Even though they were visibly frustrated, City College shut down the third set at 25-17, continuing into the fourth and final set.
The Vaqueros continued to rack up points. Moorpark crept behind, tying from 27-27, 28-28, 29-29, 30-30. Hinting at a possible overtime set, the Vaqs put an end to the game at 32-30.
“Tell her it was light work,” said freshman middle blocker Zac Pittard, adding on to Lind’s previous commentary.
“I feel great,” Pittard said. “We play Pierce and Santa Monica next. We’ve beaten both those teams. We just gotta keep going and doing our thing.”
City College will be competing against Santa Monica College at 5 p.m. March 27.
