Trials and Tribulations for Men's Volleyball
Despite a mixed season, the SMC men's volleyball team feel satisfied with their performance and look forward to the next season.
The Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs men's volleyball team finished off their season as the eighth seeded team in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California regional playoffs. They had a 7-5 record in the Western State Conference south division and 10-10 record overall.
In their final game on April 21, the team played against the Long Beach Vikings, losing 3-0. This season saw the Corsairs going back and forth between winning streaks and losses. Head coach Liran Zamir said that despite the ups and downs of the season, he is happy with the end result.
“We played our hearts out, and we did pretty good,” he said.
Coach Zamir mentioned that although this wasn’t the best season they’ve had, it was a good season and that the team did well with what they had and had good resolve. He described this season as a building block for the SMC culture for next year's team.
Coach Zamir mentioned how proud he was when the team made the playoffs although he wanted them to go further and mentioned they can keep up this success by “keeping the culture and energy all around.”
Outside-hitters Nate Davis and Beikwaw Yankey were named to the all-conference first-team, while outside-hitter Kane Schwengel made it to the second-team. Javier Castillo won libero of the year, leading the state in digs, and middle-blocker Jonathan Pritchard committed to playing at UC Santa Cruz next year.
When asked about his favorite team memory, Zamir mentioned “how we always want to beat Santa Barbara,” saying they defeated them twice. He hopes to improve the team by replacing the graduating players and filling empty spots they will leave behind.
He describes the culture of SMC volleyball as professional, where players approach their practice with competence, “attending practice on time … listening to their coaches, and being a good teammate.” Players also help with fundraising and bring in connections of their own to the team.
“It's essential to be a great person and a good teammate, that is one of the things we put emphasis on,” Zamir said. “We want the guys to be positive throughout and leave negativity outside.”
When talking about team success, Davis said it was hard for the team to get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round. Some of the challenges they faced during the season dealt with chemistry issues, with new players having to fill positions and other players having to switch roles.
“A lot of confusion that could affect team chemistry and how we play, you wouldn't have guessed that,” he said.
Davis said one improvement that the team could have made was on academic eligibility, and that if other players stay on top of that, they could go from being an underdog to a championship-bound team.
His favorite memory this season was the first set from the Long Beach City College game. Despite the loss, Davis said that it was “the most fire I've seen from the team.” He added that in high-stakes situations like that, the team would often get too excited and make mistakes, but in that instance, the team was super focused.
Davis said that even though he won't be returning next year, the players from the recruiting class have that same drive and passion he has when it comes to volleyball.
“It's something that you can't really teach at this level, you're either dedicated and have that drive to succeed and be better, or you don't,” he said. “All the players have it, I saw some of the most incredible work ethic I've seen on any team.”
He hopes for the next team he hopes he instilled the drive for the team to be better, “but they already had that in spades.”
