El Camino Beach Volleyball downs undefeated Long Beach City College, sweeps College of the Desert

With an undefeated conference record at stake and tensions simmering in its budding rivalry, the Long Beach City College Vikings put it all on the line against the El Camino College Beach Volleyball team on Friday, March 29.

Despite the Vikings’ relentless efforts, it fell short of securing their sixth consecutive conference victory. In a late-match surge of momentum on four of the five courts, the Warriors seized control, shifting the tide in El Camino’s favor, claiming the 3-2 match win.

“It always feels good to beat [Long Beach],” Warriors coach Liz Hazell said. “They’re kind of one of our big rivals in conference and they were undefeated so great win.”

Following the pair of wins, the Warriors are tied for second alongside the Vikings, with identical 5-2 records in Southern Coast Conference play. Both teams trail first-place Mt. SAC by just one match.

College of the Desert No. 4 duo Stacie Alexander digs the ball against El Camino College on Friday, March 29. Alexander and partner Alexia Siani-Rader lost their match against the Warriors court four duos 21-16, 21-7. (Ethan Cohen | The Union)

The Warriors’ day continued in a doubleheader, where they swept College of the Desert 5-0 in Friday’s match.

“Our conference has always been strong both on the indoor and beach [volleyball] side,” Vikings coach Tyler Jackson said. “I’ve been really proud of our program and the girls because we were undefeated.”

Jackson was not surprised by El Camino’s win over Long Beach City, highlighting the strength of its program. Nevertheless, she was “bummed out” at the loss.

Since taking on the role of coach, Jackson noted the Vikings’ beach volleyball team has not reached the playoffs. However, she’s determined to change that this time around and lead the team to postseason success.

“[We] take it one match at a time,” Jackson said. “Always hoping for the best, hoping that we can finish on top of the conference and do really well in playoffs.

Long Beach City College No. 1 duo Enaya Vaielua dives for the ball in the sand on court one against El Camino College on Friday, March 29. The court one Vikings duo lost in the third set against the Warriors 15-8, ceding the match win to El Camino. (Ethan Cohen | The Union)

Entering the match against Long Beach City, the Warriors’ top duo Bridget Dorr and Ryan D’Angelo expected tough competition from the Vikings. However, they remained unfazed by the Vikings’ conference record.

“We came in with tons of energy and with a fight in us to win,” Dorr said. “We didn’t care if they’d been undefeated, we didn’t care how they’d been doing, all we knew is that we wanted to play our game against them and play the hardest that we could.”

D’Angelo and Dorr beat the Vikings’ top duo in three sets, 21-16, 13-21, 15-8.

Warriors No. 1 duo Ryan D'Angelo dives for the ball on court one against Long Beach City on Friday, March 29. D'Angelo and partner Bridget Dorr beat the Vikings 21-16, 13-21, 15-8 taking the overall match win 3-2. (Ethan Cohen | The Union)

Individual five-game outcomes against the Vikings:
Ryan D’Angelo / Bridget Dorr (ECC) def. Tainea Allen / Enaya Vaielua (LBCC) 21-16, 13-21, 15-8
Erica Griffiths / Sophia Ortiz (ECC) def. Mikayla Curry / Kaylani Moncada (LBCC) 18-21, 21-15, 15-10
Bianca Atienza-Perez / Kayla Keyzer (ECC) def. Carmelina Infante / Mya Johnson (LBCC) 21-11, 17-21, 15-10
Pearl Tuliau / Brandi Ramirez (LBCC) def. Adelynn Abrams / Perla Lopez (ECC) 21-18, 21-18
Danika Iosua / Ryannah Gagau (LBCC) def. Crystal Salgado / Yasmin Watanabe (ECC) 21-19, 19-21, 15-13

Individual five-game outcomes against College of the Desert:
D’Angelo/Dorr (ECC) def. Melanie Hernandez / Bella Branconier (COD) 21-12, 21-15
Griffiths/Ortiz (ECC) def. Alexia Siani-Rader / Stacie Alexander (COD) 21-16, 21-7
Atienza-Perez/Keyzer (ECC) def. Sarah Nieto / Ashley Estrada (COD) 21-7, 21-9
Abrams/Lopez (ECC) def. Ashley Amidei / Liana Whitley (COD) 14-21, 21-8, 15-12
Salgado/Watanabe (ECC) def. Sophia Gilbert / Veronica Walsh (COD) 21-9, 21-6

Dorr highlighted the significant role momentum plays in her and D’Angelo’s game on the court. She said the energy they generate and the chemistry they rely on propel them into a rhythm on the sand.

“It’s all about knowing where your strengths lie and how to cover your partner where their weaknesses are,” Dorr said. “You have to have that chemistry and understanding of one another to be able to play well together.”

Warriors coach LeValley Pattison acknowledged that the team will continue to practice controlling the ball and hitting its spots before heading into next week’s match against Cerritos College.

Warriors No. 4 duo Sophia Ortiz dives for the ball against the court four College of the Desert duo on Friday, March 29. Ortiz and partner Erica Griffiths beat Desert 21-16, 21-7. The Warriors swept Desert 5-0 in the overall match. (Ethan Cohen | The Union)

“Our game is not dictated by how the other team plays,” Pattison said. “We don’t have any big bangers, big blockers so we have to work hard on defense…If we do that, and we have good vision for [our] teammates, we’re usually pretty successful.”