The Moorpark College Raiders never expected the Long Beach City College Vikings to dominate them with a New York state of mind.
Two New York natives proved to be unstoppable for the Vikings (7-1, 1-0 WSC), as the Raiders (5-3, 0-1) were swept in three sets (22-30, 28-30, 22-30) Friday night at Raider Pavilion.
The New Yorkers were composed of middle blocker Randy Preval and outside hitter Rob McClean. The 6-foot-6 Preval took advantage of his height to overpower the Raiders’ front line. McClean dominated the defensive end, making key blocks on the Raiders leader in kills Josh Howley.
In each team’s conference opener, Raiders’ head coach, Steve Burkhart hopes the three-set sweep gave his team a rude awakening.
“Hopefully it’s a wakeup call,” Burkhart said. “That every team we play now is going to be good. We have to play better.”
The Raiders started off strong after a Howley ace gave the Raiders a 4-2 lead, before the lead was pushed to 7-3. However, the Vikings stormed back on an 8-2 run to retake the lead 11-9, before Matt Taylor’s kill sealed the deal, as the Vikings took the first set 30-22.
The second set appeared to come down to whoever had the last side out, as both teams battled for the lead, trading ties and lead changes. However, the Vikings took advantage of their New York state of mind, with a Preval kill that gave them the advantage they needed to eventually take the set 30-28.
The sweep proved to be inevitable in set number three, as the Vikings jumped out to a 4-1 lead, before pushing their lead to seven at 21-14. The Vikings eventually won the set and match after winning the third set 30-22.
Despite the height advantage and a better frontline, Burkhart did not believe the Vikings’ size was a major factor in their loss.
“I don’t know if matching our height is one of the things that hurt us,” Burkhart said.
Veteran sophomore setter Adam Quinn noted the team’s lack of a threat serving hurt the Raiders.
“If we don’t pick up our play, it’s going to be tough for us [in WSC play],” Quinn said. “We have to get them out of their system.”
The Raiders hope to get their first conference win when they travel to Santa Monica City College next Wednesday, March 10.
For Quinn, it is back to the drawing board.
“We have to come to practice,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do.”
