Long Beach City continues to roll and remains as top team in men's volleyball coaches poll

IRVINE - Long Beach City was picked as the top team in the California Community College Men’s Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll for the sixth week in a row.

And the Vikings (15-1, 10-0) have been dominant since taking over that No. 1 spot. They have not only captured 14 matches in a row, but also 36 straight sets.

The Vikings swept another opponent last week (No. 10 Antelope Valley) to improve their record to 15-1 overall and 10-0 in the Western State Conference. LBCC has already captured the conference title and most likely the No. 1 seed for the CCCAA State Playoffs. Matthew Pennala had 11 kills and hit .368 and Cole Oliver added 10 kills and hit .692 in the Vikings’ 25-20, 25-18, 25-19 win at Antelope Valley last Wednesday. Sean Nguyen, who leads the state in assists ended with 35 for LBCC.

Long Beach City finishes the regular season with matches at Pierce on Wednesday and at El Camino on Friday. Irvine Valley, which had been tied with Orange Coast in the past two polls, moved into the No. 2 spot alone this week.

Irvine Valley won its fifth straight Orange Empire Conference match last Friday, rolling in a 25-11, 25-19, 25-20 win over Golden West. The victory improved IVC to 14-2 overall and 5- 1 in conference. Orange Coast (up next) is 6-1 in conference.

In Irvine Valley’s victory over the Rustlers, Demetre Gossett finished with nine kills, five digs and two aces and Damon Kooiman, Zach McEntire and Leonardo Mazuco each added seven kills. IVC hosts Fullerton on Wednesday and plays at No. 9 Santiago Canyon on Friday. Orange Coast bounced back after its five-set loss to Irvine Valley on Mar. 31 with a pair of comfortable wins last week.

The Pirates swept Fullerton on Wednesday and then beat Santiago Canyon at home on Friday, 25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19. Sebastian Lara, who continues to be one of the top players in the state, finished with 18 kills with a hitting percentage of .467 in the win over SCC. Hide Nakamura added 11 digs.

The race for fourth and fifth in the state poll and for the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference title leaned toward Miramar after the now fourth-ranked Jets defeated No. 5 San Diego Mesa, 24-26, 25-18, 26-24, 25-22. Miramar went to 6-1 in the conference and Mesa fell to 5-2. Jack LeDuff had 16 kills, two blocks and 11 digs to help lead the Jets. Both Miramar and No. 5 Mesa play matches against Palomar and Grossmont this week to finish the regular season.

Mesa had Austin Kinnear with 11 kills and TJ Letuligasenoa with 10 kills and Richard Aguiniga with 35 assists against Miramar, but it wasn’t enough.
The sixth, seventh and eighth spots in the poll is where things get very interesting.

No. 6 Santa Barbara City, No. 7 Moorpark and No. 8 Santa Monica are each battling for the second position in the Western State standings.
Each team has four losses in conference. Santa Barbara City seems to be with the advantage, having won two matches in a row and only has one contest this week (at Antelope Valley Wednesday night). The biggest match of the week will take place Wednesday when Moorpark travels to Santa Monica.

State leaders include Brandon Ta of LA Pierce in kills per set (4.55). Cameron Grammatica of Santiago Canyon is next at 4.27 per set. Irvine Valley’s Adam Schulte leads in digs per set (3.58), San Diego Mesa’s TJ Letuligasenoa is best in hitting percentage (.383), Orange Coast’s Andrew Robbins leads in blocks per set (1.33), Irvine Valley’s Demetre Gossett is tops in aces per set (0.82) and Long Beach City’s Sean Nguyen leads in assists per set at 10.37. Long Beach City is first in team hitting percentage at .350 on the year.

Key matches this week include No. 7 Moorpark at No. 8 Santa Monica on Wednesday. No. 5 Santa Barbara plays at No. 10 Antelope Valley on Wednesday. And on Friday, No. 2 Irvine Valley travels to No. 9 Santiago Canyon. IVC will need to win that match to earn a co-conference championship with No. 3 Orange Coast.

Highlighted student-athlete of the week: Jack LeDuff  (Outside Hitter, So., Miramar)