Sports

El Camino men’s volleyball mow down Antelope Valley Marauders in home game

By Jesus "Jesse" Canche Chan|March 30, 2023

Outside hitter Daniel Reilly, left, attempts to tip the ball over the net as Antelope Valley reaches up to block on March 29. El Camino took home a 3-0 victory over Antelope Valley. (Ash Hallas | The Union)

While both the El Camino College Warriors and the Antelope Valley Marauders entered Wednesday’s men’s volleyball contest looking to end their losing streaks, it was the former who came out on top in a 3-0 victory at El Camino’s home court on March 29.

This is the first victory for the Warriors since their win against LA Pierce College on March 1. Since that loss, El Camino College struggled to edge out opposing teams in close games and had not won a set in its last three matchups.

During the opening set of the match against the Marauders, it seemed as if history was due to repeat itself for the Warriors.

Failing to score within the first minute of the bout, El Camino would plummet to 0-4 in kills early on.

Despite trailing numerous times in the first and second sets, lead Warrior outside hitters in kills Daniel Reilly and Jake Suson refused to go down quietly. Reilly would finish the match with 12 kills on 27 swings, and Suson with 11 kills on 21 swings.

With each score, the Warriors’ bench made their presence known, celebrating every kill as a unit.

The men of El Camino College's volleyball team huddle for a home game against Antelope Valley on March 29. El Camino took home a 3-0 victory over Antelope Valley. (Ash Hallas | The Union) — El Camino College’s men’s volleyball team huddle for a home game against Antelope Valley on March 29. El Camino took home a 3-0 victory over Antelope Valley. (Ash Hallas | The Union)

Setter Mark Antonov would play defensive specialist, deflecting multiple Marauder attacks and returning player Jake Hultgren contributed kills.

Warriors coach Kurt Peters said the team was well aware of its struggles recently and has plans to turn its season around.

“We’ve had some nights where the team doesn’t play hard or just isn’t connected,” Peters said. “We talked on Monday about everyone trying to go in the same direction for the rest of the season instead of playing as individuals.”

This is not the first time the Warriors have faced the Marauders this season.

El Camino's Bronson Garel jumps to block an attack from Antelope Valley's Tim Talabong. El Camino took home a 3-0 victory over Antelope Valley. (Ash Hallas | The Union) — Warrior Bronson Garel, right, jumps to block an attack from Antelope Valley’s Tim Talabong on March 29 at El Camino. The Warriors took home a 3-0 victory over Antelope Valley. (Ash Hallas | The Union)

During their meeting in early March, the Warriors fell short to Antelope Valley 3-2. However, the Marauders have yet to win a set in their last five matchups following that early victory against El Camino

While the Warriors were able to overcome early deficits in their most recent matchup, the Marauders struggled to pull away, often due to self-inflicted mistakes.

Antelope Valley outside hitter Luis Guerra lead throughout the bout, finishing with 11 kills on 32 swings while being complemented by setter Connor Wachala, who finished with six kills on 20 swings.

Marauders libero Eddie Reyes said he believes despite having an early lead in the matchup, it was not until the third set the team began to shine.

“Honestly, I feel like we had a little bit of downside from the beginning,” Reyes said. “We were able to pick it later on going into the third set we had a lot of team chemistry right there to build ourselves up.”