Warriors Conference Winning Streak Snapped at Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 9 El Camino College had not dropped a South Coast Conference contest in nearly three years but the streak came to an abrupt end on Wednesday night as the Warriors dropped a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-22) SCC-South Division decision to Long Beach City College at the Hall of Champions Gym.

The Warriors (11-3, 2-1) had won 45 straight SCC matches dating back to Oct. 13, 2013 when they fell to Pasadena City College in four sets at the ECC South Gym. But on Wednesday night, the Warriors were held to a meager .056 attacking percentage, their lowest mark of the season and the first time they were held under .200 since Sept. 15, a five-set loss to Grossmont.

The No. 14 Vikings (11-3, 3-0) won their 10th straight match and attacked at a .209 clip, led by Josannah Vazquez and her 14 kills, the only player on either side to record double digits offensively on the night.

For the Warriors, Glorious Owens led the way with eight kills and a .429 attacking percentage (8-2-14) while Jaylin Motley added six kills. Sarah Dyer dished out 12 assists while Aiko Waters led the defense with 13 digs.  

The top two teams in the division started the match off with a back-and-forth opening set. It was a game of runs as the Vikings used a 5-0 run to take an early 9-5 advantage. The Warriors responded with a 6-0 run to take an 11-9 advantage. Not to be outdone, LBCC ran off six straight of their own to regain the four-point lead.

After the Warriors trimmed the deficit to one, the teams traded points and the set looked to be in store for a tight finish. But, leading 18-17, the Vikings ran off the final seven points of the frame to take the set and a 1-0 lead in the match.

In the next set, the Vikings scored the first three points and never saw their lead get under two points as they led the Warriors wire-to-wire in the frame to take a 2-0 lead.

The Warriors came out strong in the third set, opening the frame with a 6-2 run. They held a 9-7 lead before the Vikings took their first lead of the set with three straight points to take a 10-9 advantage. Both teams would trade the lead back-and-forth in the middle and late part of the set but the Vikings strung together three straight points to take a 23-21 lead. After an attacking error brought the Warriors within one, Austin Edwards finished things off with two straight kills to score the victory and put an end to the Warriors 45-game conference winning streak.

The Warriors will venture outside the conference in their next match as they continue their season-long five-game road swing with a match at Mira Costa on Friday night. First serve is set for 6 p.m.