Down 11-3 during the second set, coach Richard Blount used his second and final timeout of the set.

“Make some plays,” he said to his players. “It doesn’t matter who wins the first half of the game, it matters who wins the second half.”

The men’s volleyball team fought hard and tried to come back but fell in the second set, 22-25.

The struggling perseverance that the Warriors showed after being down so heavily set them up for the rest of the match.

The second-place Warriors hosted third-placed Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) Vaqueros on Friday night and won 3-1 in sets.

The Warriors took the first, third and fourth sets to secure their playoff berth.

This match had heavy implications for second place as the Warriors were 7-3 in conference and the Vaqueros were only half a game behind sitting at 6-3.

El Camino needed the win to fully lock in the conference runner-up spot heading into the playoffs.

Tonight’s match was dominated by EC’s attackers, but by errors for both teams as well.

Sophomore outside hitter Casey Wood had 15 kills to his name, while freshman outside hitter Cesar Medina handled his side of the court with 12 kills. Middle blockers Peter Sarmiento, freshman, and Peter Nordel, sophomore tacked on 13 kills between them.

Although the team put together an good offensive night, Medina had his play spotlighted.

“Their (SBCC) coach said to me after the game, ‘Cesar beat us by himself,'” Blount said.

Medina had four service aces, three of which came in one serve rotation that put the Warriors in the lead in the first set, which they ultimately won.

“I was feeling really good,” Medina said. “I felt like I owe it to my team. Chris left me open and set to me and I just finished.”

The Warriors head to L.A. Trade Tech Beavers on April 8 to play the last place team in both conferences.

The Beavers have yet to win a match this season, and have only won a single set all season long.

Blount has no idea what the plan is for his starters for the final regular-season game.

“I’ll sleep on it,” he said. “We do want to see the production of the other guys.”

“We need the win. We can’t afford another loss,” he added.

With the win over SBCC, the Warriors are now the No. 2 seed in the Western State Conference and will host the third seed of the Pacific Coast Conference, which is yet to be determined.

That match will be at home on April 17.