Last week was a rough week for the men’s volleyball team, as injuries and academic problems made for a disastrous start of conference play.

Fortunately for the Warriors, it is just the beginning of conference play and they will have ample time to make up lost ground.

“Last week was tough,” assistant coach Richard Blount said.

“Steve Sobko was hurt and Mike St. Louis had to quit due to academic ineligibility, which forced us to play people who probably were not quite ready for the responsibility.”

Yesterday, the Warriors hosted Santa Monica but scores were unavailable at press time. Santa Monica is in second place and has an overall record of 6-2.

Already reeling from the loss of two starters, the Warriors hosted rival Long Beach Friday in an emotionally charged match.

The Warriors lost to the Vikings in three games (30-18, 30-25, 30-26). The men were led once again by Logan Johnson and Rob Curran who had 10 kills and one block apiece.

“Long Beach is a really good team,” Sean Barnes said. “I think we had a shot in the second game but just couldn’t close it out.”

“If we thought last week was tough, this week is going to be even tougher,” Logan Johnson said.

Tomorrow the men will travel to Pierce to face the first place and four-time defending state champion Brahma Bulls.

Pierce is undefeated in conference play and are the heavy favorites to not only win league, but to win the state championship for the fifth straight year.

The South Coast Conference is regarded as one of the toughest conferences in the state. Any team able to advance will go into the playoffs highly touted.

“Pierce by far is the class of the conference but top to bottom everyone in our league is a tough match,” coach Le Valley Pattison said.

Pattison remains confident about the team’s chances of advancing. Many of the players are ranked high among the state’s league leaders.

“I think if we play up to our potential, we could compete and even beat Pierce.”

“They are every bit as good as Long Beach and we were in every game except the first one against Long Beach.”

Last Wednesday, the Warriors traveled to Santa Barbara and lost in four games (30-32, 30-28, 32-30, 30-23). The men were led by Logan Johnson who had 15 kills and Rob Curran, who had 13 kills and five blocks.