After hauling in a Western State Southern Division Championship for the third consecutive year, the top-seeded Long Beach City College men's volleyball team is preparing to take on the tenth-seeded Miramar College Jets on Friday, April 20 at home in the Building Q Gymnasium at 6 p.m. in round-one action.
Cost of admission to the contest is $12 for general admission and $8 for students, faculty, staff, seniors, and children. There will be $2 metered parking permits for all visitors available outside of the Hall of Champions.
The Vikings look to reclaim their title as they won the 2016 State Championship by defeating Orange Coast College in four sets. Last year, the Vikings advanced to the Championship Semifinal, but lost to El Camino College 3-0. The Vikings are coming back more dangerous than ever as they enter the post-season with a perfect 19-0 record.
During the regular season, the Vikings defeated the Jets 3-1(25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 25-20) on Friday, Feb 9. Sophomore opposite Steven Rotter led the team with 13 kills, four digs and three block assists. Freshman setter Melbe Perez was the force behind the ball with 19 assists and sophomore setter Marques Buggs was right behind him with 12 assists. Both freshman outside hitter Miller Davis and sophomore outside hitter Andrew Pearson had two service aces for that game.
Rotter is the Western State-South Conference leader for 197 kills total during the regular season and is second in the conference with 3.65 kills per set.
Pearson is not only on the conference leaderboard, but is also in the top spot in the state with a .543 hitting percentage. Right behind him in the second place slot in the conference is freshman opposite Robert Oliver with .339 hitting percentage.
Freshman middle blocker Carlos Hernandez is third in the state with 1.45 blocks per set, while sophomore middle blocker Victor Villarreal is seated in second in the conference with 1.18 blocks per set.
Miramar College looks to further their 10-game winning streak against Vikings. They came first in the Pacific Coast Conference with an undefeated 6-0 record. Sophomore opposite Keanu Pukahi is on top of the leaderboard of the Pacific Coast Conference with averaging 3.54 kills per set and has a total of 145 kills.
