Santa Barbara City upsets Orange Coast but Pirates remain No. 1; Vaqueros jump to No. 5

IRVINE - Despite losing its first match of the season, Orange Coast was the top-ranked team for the second straight week in the California Community College Men’s Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll of 2020.

The Pirates held on to No. 1 even after losing in four sets at Santa Barbara last Friday on the road.

The voting was a lot closer this week, though for the top position with Long Beach City, Santiago Canyon and Santa Barbara City each receiving a No. 1 vote.

Long Beach City came in at No. 2 for the second week in a row. The Vikings improved to 3-1 overall with a 25-10, 22-25, 25-16, 25-14 win at Golden West in its only match of the week last Wednesday.

Erik Hernandez had 13 kills, Uriel Batitsta finished with nine kills and nine digs and Kyler Tufuga had 20 digs for Long Beach City.

Santiago Canyon, one of only two undefeated teams left in the state, jumped four spots to in the poll and is now No. 3. The Hawks swept Santa Barbara City last Wednesday behind 16 kills from Matthew Roussin and 29 assists by Joshua Lloyd. Santiago Canyon takes on the other undefeated team in the state, No. 8Moorpark, Wednesday at home.

El Camino and Santa Barbara City round out the top five teams in this week’s poll.

No. 4 El Camino downed Irvine Valley in four sets in its lone match last week on Wednesday at home. Gabriel Vargas-Featherstone had 14 kills, Connor Oliver added 11 kills, Luke Grafton contributed 18 digs and Tommy Fraker finished with 38 assists.

And as mentioned before, new No. 5 Santa Barbara City stunned Orange Coast, 25-23, 25-21, 24-26, 25-22 last Friday at home. Keoni Thiim and Trent Lingruen led the way with 19 and 18 kills, respectively. And Kyle Merchen ran the offense with 35 assists. The Vaqueros hit an impressive .383 as a team in the match.

Santa Barbara City plays again on Wednesday at No. 7 Irvine Valley.

The rest of the top 10 poll can be viewed below.

(Brent Shaver, CCCMVCA)