Starting over can be hard and with a majority of the players being new, the men’s volleyball team prepares for a season full of challenges.
With an overall record of 7-9 last year and only three returning members from that squad, EC will host Palomar tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Jonathan Arakaki, Alec Gilliland and Chris Schugt are the three returning players that the team is hoping will lead them to a better season.
“It’s a new year, new team, new players, new season,” coach LeValley Pattison said. “They are starting to know more about each other, challenging each other. We haven’t quite gelled yet, but we have some good athletes.”
The Warriors had a road trip yesterday against Orange Coast, but scores were unavailable upon press time.
Tomorrow, EC will host its second home game of the season and will look for its first conference win of the year.
“We have played against Palomar before and we know what they are like,” Ryan Hall said. “We could beat these guys.”
Despite losing to Palomar during the Long Beach Tournament, the Warriors are confident that they can beat them this time around.
“It is always nice to play at home, so we are looking forward to winning,” coach Pattison said.
In an overall record of 0-3, the three losses came at the hands of Irvine Valley, Golden West and Grossmont. The Warriors are looking to put the bad results behind them.
“The game against Golden West and Grossmont were their first road trips; they didn’t know what it was like to play on the road yet,” assistant coach Richard Blount said.
“Irvine Valley is well prepared and they are even better than they were last year,” he said.
Against Irvine Valley and Grossmont, captains Chris Schugt, led the team with 40 digs and Ryan Hall had 112 attempts.
Despite its solid performances, the team couldn’t do enough to get the win.
“Chris Schugt is a defense specialist; he could play for a division one team. He’s a fabulous player,” Blount said.
Since EC is starting its season with three returning players, the Warriors will start Zachary Rubio at outside hitter.
Blount is expecting other players like Giancarlo Guerra, Jeff Riley, Chris Susuki, Laden Tusieseina and Tom Valashinas to step up to the challenge of competing with a new team.
