The City College men’s volleyball team gained their second preseason win, defeating Fullerton College 3-1 on Wednesday, Feb. 8 in the Sports Pavillion.
The Vaqueros battled hard in each set, eager to take home a win. The starting lineup for this season’s Vaqueros average around 6 feet tall with a mix of first and second years.
The first set was neck and neck, pushing the score past 25. However, City College fell behind because of missed serves and errors, costing them the set 26-28. The Vaqueros’ front row worked hard to block most of the hits by Fullerton, keeping up a solid defense and working in harmony.
“It wasn’t one guy, it was everyone as a team, so we just all had to come together and bounce back,” second year City College player Carter Cottrell said.
Fullerton put up a good fight with drive for the win, pushing strong hits against the back row and maintaining a cheerful attitude with each point they won. In response, the Vaqueros’ captains demonstrated the importance of communication in a game with loud commands and by leading plays.
“It keeps the team close knit,” second year player Cole Richards said, “when you stop talking you start playing as individuals and not a team.”
The Vaqueros moved onto the next set ready for change, keeping a two to three point lead the majority of the set. They encouraged each other to work as a unit and quickly move on from any mistakes, which Richards said led to their momentum gain throughout the game.
“It’s a new play every single time, we can sort of come back and give it our full effort,” the 6’4’’ player said.
Head Coach Jordan Dyer shared how the mindset of the team is very important in a sport like volleyball. Having a mindset that keeps the team working together, even if the game starts to go badly, is what leads to success.
As the team advances into their season with confidence from their win, the goal of the game remains the same.
“When we’re hitting like rock bottom, or if we were struggling, we’ve talked about like the premium of working together as a team in that situation,” Dyer said. “That’s something we’ve talked about the last week or so.”
As the Vaqueros progressed through the game, Vaqueros’ setter and opposite Troy Fitzgerald made his presence felt on the court, creating opportunities for his offense to score while dominating with 10 kills.
“Indoor is kind of a newer thing for me, so I’m kind of getting in the groove and it feels really good to get our first win,” the beach volleyball player said.
The Vaqueros worked hard to keep a safe lead during the third set, winning 25-19.
Friends, family and faculty members contributed to the atmosphere, erupting with claps and cheers for every point awarded to the Vaqueros.
Capping the game in the fourth set at 25-21, the Vaqueros took their second preseason win.
“Just winning, there’s an art to it and I think, this is our first win of the season so just being able to win is something that I think some people lose in the X’s and O’s,” Dyer said.
City College’s next home game will be against San Diego Mesa at 4 p.m. on Friday Feb. 17 in the Sports Pavillion.
