Long Beach set to host Irvine Valley in State Championship quarterfinals on Friday

Long Beach City College opens its postseason run on Friday at 6 p.m. when the Vikings will host Irvine Valley College in the CCCAA State Championship quarterfinals. LBCC looks to capture its ninth state title. (Photo by John Fajardo)

Photo by John Fajardo
Photo by John Fajardo
April 16, 2014

Western State Conference champion El Camino College and Pacific Coast Athletic Conference winner Orange Coast College have been named the top seeds for the 2014 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Men's Volleyball State Championship tournament. The event opens this Friday, April 18 and concludes next week. Quarterfinal matches will be played at the home site of the higher seed while state championship semifinals (Apr. 23) and final (Apr. 25) matches will be played at Santiago Canyon College in Orange, CA.

Four teams will play state championship quarterfinal matches on Friday to earn a chance to face El Camino and Orange Coast in the state championship semifinals next Wednesday. The state final is set for April 25 at 7 p.m.

Long Beach College (WSC #2 seed) hosts Irvine Valley College (PCAC #3 seed) and Grossmont College (PCAC #2 seed) hosts Santa Monica College (WSC #3 seed) on Friday at 6 p.m. for the right to advance.

Earlier this season in their lone meeting, Long Beach swept Irvine Valley at LBCC on February 21. An early-season non-conference meeting between Grossmont and Santa Monica was cancelled.

The winner of Friday's Grossmont/Santa Monica match will face El Camino in Wednesday's 5 p.m. semifinal and the Long Beach/Irvine Valley winner will take on Orange Coast in the 8 p.m. semifinal at Santiago Canyon.

Visit the official CCCAA website at http://www.cccaasports.org/sports/mvball/index for updated information on the men's volleyball state championships.

About the Orange Coast College Pirates (PCAC, No. 1 seed)
Orange Coast returns to the state championship tournament for its eighth consecutive season. The Pirates closed the regular-season with a state-best 18-1 overall record and captured the PCAC title at 11-1. OCC's lone loss of the season came on March 12 when the Pirates lost in five sets at Grossmont. Orange Coast has won two state titles (1991, 1994). Last year, OCC was swept by Long Beach in the state championship quarterfinals. Orange Coast is led by eighth-year head coach Travis Turner.

About the Grossmont College Griffins (PCAC, No. 2 seed)
 Grossmont returns to the postseason for its fourth straight year. Grossmont takes a 12-6 overall record into the playoffs and finished second in the PCAC at 9-3. The Griffins look to win their first ever state championship this season after reaching the state final in 2013 and 2011. Grossmont was swept by Golden West in last year's state championship match. Grossmont is led by third-year head coach Travis Lee.

About the Irvine Valley College Lasers (PCAC, No. 3)
Irvine Valley returns to the postseason after a one-year absence and is in the playoffs for the ninth time over the past 10 seasons. This season, Irvine Valley compiled a 12-7 overall record and finished third in the PCAC at 8-4. Irvine Valley looks to win its fifth state title (1993, 2007, 2008, 2010). The Lasers are led by fifth-year head coach Ki Yi.

About the El Camino College Warriors (WSC, No. 1 seed)
 El Camino returns to postseason for its fourth consecutive season after winning its first-ever Western State Conference championship. The Warriors will also look to win another first --- a state championship after last reaching the state final in 1983. This season, El Camino captured the WSC title with an 11-1 mark and takes a 15-4 overall record into the playoffs. Last season, El Camino suffered a five-set loss to eventual state champion Golden West College in the state quarterfinals. El Camino is led by 10th-year head coach Richard Blount.

About the Long Beach City College Vikings (WSC, No. 2 seed)
Long Beach enters the state tournament for the ninth straight season and comes in with a 15-4 overall record. The Vikings went 9-3 in conference play to finish in second place in the WSC. Long Beach has won eight state championships overall (1976, 1980, 1982, 1985, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012). Last season, the Vikings fell to Grossmont 3-1 in the state championship semifinals. Long Beach is led by third-year head coach Jonathan Charette.

About the Santa Monica College Corsairs (WSC, No. 3 seed)
Santa Monica returns to the postseason for the first time since 2010. SMC finished third in the Western State Conference with an 8-4 record and enters the playoffs with a 12-6 overall mark under head coach John Mayer. The Corsairs will look to win their first state title. 

CCCMVCA Hall of Fame
Prior to the state championship final on Friday, the California Community College Men's Volleyball Coaches Association will induct two members into its Hall of Fame. The 2014 inductees are Keith Erickson (El Camino) and Rocky Ciarelli (Long Beach).

The group will join a list of 20 previously inducted members: 2013 – Beau Daniels (Los Angeles Pierce), Brent Frohoff (El Camino), Randy Stoklos (Santa Monica), and Lance Walker (Los Angeles Pierce); 2012 – Ernie Suwara (Santa Monica), Steve Obradovich (El Camino), and Brian Lewis (Orange Coast); 2011 – Mike Bright (El Camino), Duncan McFarland (El Camino), Gary "Jake" Jacobsen (Long Beach) and Bob Wetzel (Orange Coast); 2010 – Butch May (Santa Monica), Gary Sato (Santa Monica), and Fred Featherstone (Grossmont); 2009 – Bob Ctvrtlik (Long Beach), Marv Dunphy (Los Angeles Pierce), Rick Olmstead (Santa Barbara), Pat Powers (Santa Monica), Riley Salmon (Los Angeles Pierce), Ken Stanley (Los Angeles Pierce), and Steve Timmons (Orange Coast).