By Phil Thurman
Fullerton College Athletics
FULLERTON, Calif. - The No.1-seeded Long Beach City College Vikings were upset by the No. 4 L.A. Pierce Brahmas on Thursday night. L.A. Pierce will now advance to the California Community College Athletic Association Men's Volleyball Championship match after sweeping the Vikings in three straight sets in the early semifinal match hosted by Fullerton College.
The Brahmas will square off against the winner of the late semifinal match between No. 2 Orange Coast College and No. 3 Irvine Valley on Saturday at 7:00 pm in the state final match back at Fullerton College.
L.A. Pierce, the Western State-North Conference (6-0), champs won the match by scores of 25-12, 25, 20, and 25-19 putting a blemish on Long Beach's 2018 unbeaten record.
Long Beach ends its outstanding season with a Western State-South Conference title (6-0) and an overall record of 20-1. Prior to tonight's game the Vikings had only lost eight sets all season.
The Brahmas jumped out early playing very aggressively, and it paid off. In the first game, LAP went up 13-5 and never looked back. In game two, the Brahmas kept Long Beach off balance grabbing an 18-12 lead and then kept the Vikings off balance for the win. Facing an uphill battle, LBCC did their best to fight back in game three taking their first lead at 16-15, but L.A. Pierce went on a 10-3 run to seal the match.
Morgan Wadlow led the Brahmas with 10 kills and 5 digs in the semifinal victory. Cole Chea added 9 kills, while Bernardo Roese delivered 29 assists.
For Long Beach, Steven Rotter led the team with 9 kills with Remi Pourrat and Miller David hammering down 5. Melbe Perez and Marques Buggs equaled one another with 12 assists.
L.A. Pierce returns to the state championship final for the first time since 2006 when they lost to Long Beach City in five hard-fought games (25-13, 23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-5). The Brahmas look to win their 8th state championship, a feat that has not been done since 2003.
The CCCAA State Championship will be broadcast LIVE by SoCal College Sport