Tournament most valuable player Rob McLean totaled 15 kills and five blocks to help lead Long Beach City College to a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24) win over Orange Coast College in the championship final of the 2012 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Men's Volleyball State Championship on Saturday night at LBCC's Hall of Champions Gym.
Long Beach, champions of the Western State Conference and ranked No. 1 in the state for most of the season, capped its season with a 17-2 record to win the college's eighth state championship overall. It was LBCC's first state title since 2009 as well as the first for new co-head coaches Matt Silva and Jonathan Charette.
"There was enormous pressure on Jon and I to win," said Silva. "I think we both felt it. A lot of credit goes to (former head coach) Randy Totorp. This team was his legacy. This team was so good and I think we got what we deserved."
The home court advantage helped the Vikings capture momentum early. LBCC jumped ahead 4-1 in the opening set before Orange Coast rallied back to tie set at 8-8. LBCC's Aniefre Etim-Thomas single handedly took over, scoring five of the next six points. Etim-Thomas posted four kills and teamed with McLean on a block to put Long Beach up 13-9.
The Vikings were up 16-10 and 23-19 before Long Beach ran into trouble putting the Pirates away. With set point at 24-20, Orange Coast got kills from Michael Ensign and Chris Van Vuuren to make things interesting at 24-22. But a kill McLean gave the Vikings the 25-22 win in the opener.
Orange Coast stole momentum back in the second set. An ace by Van Vuuren and three straight LBCC hitting errors put OCC up 9-3. The Pirates held their biggest lead of 16-10 after an ace by Ensign. The Vikings eventually tie the match at 23, but OCC closed out the second with a kill by Dillon Emery and an attack error by Brett Anema to tie up the match 1-1.
The third set was close early. With LBCC holding a one-point advantage at 8-7, the Vikings rallied for four consecutive points. LBCC would eventually earn nine of the next 12 points and after a block by Etim-Thomas and Jo'Lon Clark, took a commanding 17-9 lead. Jonathan Schaefer's kill gave Long Beach set point at 24-18, but once again the Vikings had a tough time closing out the win. Three kills by Emery and an ace by state-leader Van Vuuren got Orange Coast within two at 24-22. But Schaefer, coming off the bench for the Vikings, closed out the set with a laser down the line to give Long Beach the 25-22 win and a 2-1 advantage.
Orange Coast didn't let Long Beach take the match easily. OCC jumped out to a 5-3 lead and was up 10-8 before LBCC once again rallied. Max Wechsung started a five-point rally and closed it with an ace to give the Vikings a 13-10 lead that they wouldn't give up.
Leading 14-12, McLean posted two aces and two kills to give the Vikings breathing room at 17-12. Long Beach had set point at 24-19 and again couldn't put the Pirates away. Two LBCC errors and kills from Emery, Van Vuuren, and Austin Bagby tied the fourth set at 24-24. But consecutive hitting errors by Van Vuuren and Emery gave Long Beach championship point at 26-24.
Etim-Thomas, named the all-tournament team, hit an amazing .846 on the night with 11 kills on 13 attempts with no errors. He added nine blocks and an ace. Wechsung, also named the all-tournament team, had nine kills, 25 assists, and two blocks.
"I always knew we were going to do it," said Wechsung. "We just had to play our game. We knew we had the best team in the state all year."
Brett Anema also chipped in with nine kills and five blocks while hitting .528 in the match.
"It was a great team win," said McLean, who hit .481 in his final match at LBCC. "The coaches really set us up to win. There were a lot of people that stepped up tonight and throughout the entire season that helped lead us to this point."
Orange Coast, champions of the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, closed its season with a 15-5 overall record. The Pirates made their third trip to the state final in five seasons.
Emery, named to the all-tournament team, was impressive in the loss. He totaled a tournament-high 30 kills on 51 attempts. Van Vuuren, another all-tourney pick, had 10 kills to go with three blocks and two aces. Ensign posted 46 assists and six digs.
CCCAA Men's Volleyball State Championship All-Tournament Team
MVP – Rob McLean, Long Beach
Aniefre Etim-Thomas, Long Beach
Max Wechsung, Long Beach
Dillon Emery, Orange Coast
Chris Van Vuuren, Orange Coast
Shane Beatty, Grossmont
Garrett Komisarek, Irvine Valley
