City College men’s volleyball team beat Santa Monica in a three-set match, finishing with a score of 3-0 on Feb. 25.
The team was determined to win their first conference game this season.
“This was a good starting point for us for our conference,” head coach Bridget Kulesh said.
Santa Monica scored the first point quickly after one minute. Before the first timeout, the Vaqueros had caught up and added some points. After the first timeout the score was 14-8, with the Vaqueros in the lead.
City College won the first set with a score of 25-18.
The second set began, the Vaqueros kept their high energy and intensity, leading once again right in the beginning of the set. In the meantime, the game was very close and Santa Monica was only one point behind during most of the second set.
The Vaqueros pushed through and ultimately won the second set 25-21.
Going into the third set, the pressure was too high for Santa Monica and they began to make errors including hitting the ball out of bounds, leading the Vaqueros to win the last set of the match 25-18.
City College’s Sports Pavilion was loud as the crowd and bench erupted with cheers. Excitement filled the gym due to the first conference win.
“I think we served more aggressively than we have in the past and we kept our serves served in and at the targets we were looking for,” Kulesh said. “I think authentically we just kept it super simple. We are able to capitalize on some of their weaknesses early on and kind of kept up with it throughout the whole match.”
Not only is Kulesh satisfied with the game, but also the players.
“I feel like I did a good job hitting high over the block instead of into it as much as I used to,” Freshman middle blocker and outside hitter Keegan Hubbard said. Looking forward to their next game, Kulesh mentioned that they just want to improve and make some adjustments. Kulesh says a little bit more early communication in the game and figuring things out right off the gate versus taking a few points or a set to figure everything out.
Hubbard mentioned his motivation for the Vaqueros’ next game.
“Just winning, winning the league and the states, I will just take it all,” Hubbard said.
Their next game will be Friday, Feb. 28 at El Camino.
