Men’s Volleyball: Vikings finish third at season-opening LBCC Invitational

The Long Beach City College men's volleyball team compiled a 5-1 tournament record to finish in third place out of nine teams at the LBCC Invitational on Sunday.

Long Beach had an easy time in its pool play matches, rolling to sweeps of Golden West (25-18, 25-11), Moorpark (25-22, 26-24), and Santa Barbara (25-17, 25-20). The Vikings were tested by Orange Coast, but prevailed in three (25-18, 17-25, 15-11).

In the championship playoffs, top-seeded LBCC defeated No. 8 Santa Monica 25-12 in the quaterfinals, but was knocked off in the semifinals by No. 4 Irvine Valley 25-17.

Irvine Valley would eventually win the tournament, defeating No. 7 El Camino 25-18 in the final.
 
New co-head coaches Matt Silva and Jonathan Charette saw their first action leading the Vikings on Sunday. Silva was satisfied with his team's effort.

"I thought the guys played well together," Silva said. "The guys were excited to finally play someone else after practicing against each other for so long."

"Max Wechsung did a great job hitting and setting for us today," he added. "Aniefre Etim-Thomas (pictured) was awesome blocking and hitting in transition. And Greg Utupo did well on the outside."

Long Beach returns to action on Wednesday (Feb 1) when it opens its regular-season match schedule at home against Grossmont College at 6 pm.

2012 LBCC Men's Volleyball Invitational
January 29, 2012 - Long Beach City College

Pool Play Results – Round 1
Long Beach def. Golden West, 2-0 (25-18, 25-11)
Long Beach def. Moorpark, 2-0 (25-22, 26-24)
Moorpark def. Golden West, 2-0 (25-21, 25-16
Orange Coast def. LA Pierce, 2-0 (25-21, 27-25)
LA Pierce def. Santa Monica, 2-0 (25-18, 25-21)
Orange Coast def. Santa Monica, 2-0 (25-15, 27-25)
Santa Barbara def. Irvine Valley, 2-0 (25-20, 27-26)
Irvine Valley def. El Camino, 2-0 (25-19, 25-23)
Santa Barbara def. El Camino, 2-0 (25-20, 26-24)

Pool Play Results – Round 2
El Camino def. Golden West, 2-1 (25-16, 23-25, 15-7)
LA Pierce def. El Camino, 2-0 (25-21, 27-25)
LA Pierce def. Golden West, 2-0 (25-17, 25-23)
Santa Monica def. Moorpark, 2-0 (25-18, 26-24)
Irvine Valley def. Santa Monica, 2-0 (25-12, 25-15)
Moorpark def. Irvine Valley, 2-0 (25-16, 27-26)
Long Beach def. Orange Coast, 2-1 (25-18, 17-25, 15-11)
Long Beach def. Santa Barbara, 2-0 (25-17, 25-20)
Orange Coast def. Santa Barbara, 2-0 (25-22, 25-19)

Championship Playoff Round Matches (Playoff seed)
Santa Monica (8) def. Golden West (9), 25-21
Long Beach (1) def. Santa Monica (8), 25-12
Irvine Valley (4) def. Moorpark (5), 26-24
Santa Barbara (6) def. LA Pierce (3), 25-20
El Camino (7) def. Orange Coast (2), 25-23
Semifinals
Irvine Valley def. Long Beach, 25-17
El Camino def. Santa Barbara, 25-19
Championship Final
Irvine Valley def. El Camino, 25-18

Photo: Aniefre Etim-Thomas slams down the match-winner against Orange Coast on Sunday. (By Chris Ruiz)