The Long Beach City College women's volleyball team won the first two sets but couldn't put away visiting San Diego Mesa College as the Vikings lost 3-2 (25-23, 25-12, 18-25, 15-25, 5-15) in a non-conference match at LBCC on Friday.

The loss dropped the Vikings to 4-3 overall while No. 25 state-ranked San Diego Mesa improved to 6-3.

After edging the Olympians 25-23 in the opener, everything went the Vikings' way in the second as they cruised to the big 25-12 win.

But Mesa came out a completely different team in the third set and any momentum Long Beach had was quickly erased.

Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn McMahon (pictured) led LBCC with 13 kills and seven blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Celina Yandall had 19 kills and freshman setter Sami Uepa totaled 23 assists and nine kills.

Despite the outcome, Long Beach head coach Suzie Witmer was pleased with her team's effort.

"I'm very proud of the way our team showed up and played with a lot of heart," she said. "It's always a great match when we play San Diego Mesa. We played tough Long Beach volleyball."

The Vikings return to action on Wednesday (Sep 26) at 5 pm when they travel to face Golden West College in a non-conference match.

Photo by John Fajardo