The City College’s men’s volleyball team beat Antelope Valley College, earning their fourth conference win this season at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 17 in the Sports Pavillion.
The Vaqueros had a clean sweep and knocked out Antelope Valley in three sets. They had a total of 31 kills, 23 digs and 30 aces in the match, with setter Carter Cottrell contributing 19 of the aces.
During the first set, City College applied pressure on the net by putting up a three-man block, making it difficult for Antelope Valley to score or hit efficiently.
“We’ve gotten a lot better at putting up a three man block this year, last year we didn’t do that too much,” said Head Coach Jordon Dyer.
Antelope Valley only had two subs, one of whom was injured, giving City College an obvious numbers advantage. Freshman Nathan Adaniya had the winning hit for the Vaqueros and won the first set 25-18.
Adaniya had five kills and five digs total this game, contributing to City College’s offensive and defensive success. When he is playing defense he has a strategy of looking at the hitter to prepare for his next move.
“I’m looking at the block and the hitter’s arm and where he is facing,” Adaniya said. “It’s really just read and react.”
In the second set, the Vaqueros dominated the game with their passing and hitting leading them to an 11 point lead, 23-12. Outside hitter Cole Richards and opposite Troy Fitzgerald each contributed seven kills total in the match, putting points on the scoreboard for the Vaqueros. City College won the second set 25-14.
“Without good passing we can’t get good setting or good hitting,” Cottrell said. “When everyone is doing their job it makes it a lot easier to play.”
During the second set, City College showed their strength on offense and used “green light” sets to slam down powerful hits. According to Richards, they use yellow light versus green light mentality when going up to spike the ball. He explains the green light as a perfect set, where the hitters can go up and go for it with full power. The yellow light is when the set is a bit off and they go for the smarter not harder mentality, just keeping the ball in play.
“Volleyball is a game of momentum so when you’re up by a few points it’s easier to be more aggressive,” Coach Dyer said.
The Vaqueros’ serve-receive and passing paved the way to their victory. The team had a goal to pass over a 2.0 in this game and they met that goal.
“Blocking and serve-receive was good tonight,” coach Dyer said. “We tried to pass over 2.0 tonight and we achieved that.”
In the third Antelope Valley took their first lead of the game 2-4. The score went back and forth resulting in City College winning, 25-22.
“As a team, we started doing a really good job of keeping our serves in and tough, I think carrying that into the rest of the season is the most important thing,” Richards said.
The Vaqueros next home game will be during spring break Wednesday, March 29 at 6 p.m. in the Sports Pavillion.
