Men's Volleyball Loses 3-1 Against Long Beach in Final Home Game
The Santa Monica Corsairs lost 3-1 in a conference game against the Long Beach City College Vikings during their final home game. Though the loss means the Corsairs won't be headed to playoffs, they played for four strong sets.
Both teams started off during the first set on equal footing, staying one or two points behind until the score was 20-19, which was when the Vikings pushed further on to finish the set with a score of 21-25.
The second set followed quite similarly at first. The Corsairs managed to get a small lead with 24-18 with help from sophomores Vecas Lewin (#15) and Stanton Smith (#22). The Vikings tried to catch up, but the Corsairs mirrored the first set with a win of 25-21.
Going into the third set with an equal score, things looked up for the Corsairs but quickly fell as the Viking scored several points early on. After some attempts at catching up were made, things were settled as the set ended with a loss of 15-25.
Knowing that loss would occur if the Vikings won the fourth set, both teams stuck right behind one another for points until the very end. Consistently, both teams would trail by two points before the opposing team caught back up. Tensions were high in the crowd as the scoreboard showed 24-22 meaning one point for the Corsairs would give them another set. The Corsairs and Vikings proceeded to score one point back and forth until the Vikings pulled ahead with a 27-29 win for themselves.
Head coach Jackson Metichecchia expressed disappointment at the way the season is coming to an end.
“Same story all season, they’re inconsistent,” Metichecchia said. “We have real high highs and real low lows and it shows against good teams like Long Beach who are tough to stop when they’re in a rhythm.”
Sophomore Stanton Smith (#22) played in the position of outside hitter and acknowledged that the Vikings outplayed them.
“We didn’t really take care of what we needed, but it was a better game than we expected,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, the last couple points got away from us.”
Within the audience, athletes playing for the women’s volleyball team showed support with signs, including Ada Nadzakova who talked about the final set and how the Corsairs did what they could after mistakes earlier in the game.
“That last game was the best hustle they could have given,” Nadzakova said. “It was kind of everything leading up to the point, where it’s not just those last few seconds that count.”
Breaking a two-win streak, the Corsairs’ loss at this conference game eliminates them from post-season play and currently hold an overall 7-7 score going into their final game against the Los Angeles Trade Tech Beavers on Friday, April 13.