Posted: Sep 06, 2013
The Long Beach City College women's volleyball team split a pair of non-conference matches at home on Friday, as the Vikings hosted Chaffey, San Diego Mesa, and El Camino in a quad tournament.
Following an early 3-1 loss to San Diego Mesa, Long Beach bounced back to pick up its first win of the season thanks to a marathon (19-25, 25-10, 25-21, 23-25, 15-5) five-set victory over Chaffey in a hot and steamy Viking Gym.
Sophomore setter Melissa Yepez (Paramount HS, pictured) paced the Vikings throughout the day and totaled 46 assists to go along with 14 digs in the win over the Panthers. Her biggest moment of the afternoon came when she led LBCC to 11 straight point behind her serving to open the deciding fifth set.
Sophomore outside hitter Jasmine Caldwell (Lakewood HS) led all with 16 kills while sophomore outside hitter Vashti Nettles (Poly HS) totaled 11 kills and five blocks. Sophomore libero Lauren Moreno (Wilson HS) had 19 digs and sophomore defensive speacialist Andrea Morales (Los Alamitos HS) chipped in with five aces.
"It took a total team effort to win this match," said head coach Suzie Witmer. "I'm really glad the girls were able to bounce back like that after playing poorly in the first set."
Chaffey (2-6) was led by Heather Griepsma's 11 kills. Valerie Rivera posted team bests with 23 assists and 14 digs.
Long Beach, now 1-2 overall, returns to action on Wednesday (Sep 11) when it travels to Ventura College for a 7 pm non-conference match.
Photo by John Fajardo