Revenge didn’t happen for the Warriors on Friday night and were swept at home. Trailing throughout the match, the stunned Warriors sat in silence while Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) stormed the court celebrating a victory.
Within an hour and a half, the match was complete and the gym left empty as the Warriors couldn’t turn things around.
“We played poorly,” coach Richard Blount said. “They had more momentum, they were more excited and we seemed flat all night. And [the Vasqueros] were dinged up and we still couldn’t exploit anything.”
The Warriors play Pierce College on the road Wednesday at 6 p.m.
“This is a big game for us,” Hunter Hovland, outside hitter, said. “We are tied with (Pierce College) for third place in our conference so this game decides our season.”
Blount said the team has a chance to make the playoffs, but the team needs to focus on the next four matches to keep its hope alive.
“Santa Barbara came to win,” Kyle Burgoyne, outside hitter said. “They didn’t play well against us the first time and we thought it would be easier than expected but they stepped up a lot.”
The Warriors were down 6-3 in the first game, but a string of serves from David Estes, libero, got them within a point. But eventually they lost 25-19.
In the second game, the Warriors came back from a deficit with back-to-back blocks from Joseph Tanuvasa, setter, who recorded four blocks on the game. The game went point for point but the Warriors missed serves and gave their opponents an advantage losing 25-19.
The Warriors trailed by as much as nine points in the third game and the crowd got quiet. As they continued to miss serves, the game ended with a loss, 25-16.
“It was a bad game; no one played well and we lost very fast,” Hovland said.
With key players back from injury, the team is preparing for post-season, now more than ever.
“We need to change our mentality,” Hovland said. “Our minds need to be right to win.”
