Report by LBCC’s Chris Ruiz
Mission accomplished for the Long Beach City College men’s volleyball team. The Vikings achieved their No. 1 goal that was set at the beginning of the season — win a state championship.
Long Beach emerged on top of Golden West College 3-1 (26-30, 30-25, 30-28, 31-29) in the final of the 2009 California Community College Men’s Volleyball Championship at Irvine Valley College to earn the program’s seventh state title and third under six-year head coach Randy Totorp.
“This was our goal at the start of the season,” said Totorp. “We made sure everyone knew that. And I honestly think our team and coaches wouldn’t have been happy with second place.”
The Vikings had to overcome a game one loss, dropping to Golden West 30-26. The Rustlers took a 7-6 lead and never trailed in the opener.
Long Beach bounced back to take game two to get some momentum back on its side. The Vikings led for most of the game until Golden West rallied to tie it up at 21. But LBCC outscored Golden West 8-3 to take game two, 30-25.
The thriller of the match came in game three. Golden West jumped out to a 17-13 advantage. With the score tied 20-20, GWC got a kill from Ian McKevie and two LBCC hitting errors gave the Rustlers a 23-20 lead.
But behind the serving of Casey Bennett, the Vikings rolled to four straight points thanks to two kills by Fidelix Ojo and a pair of Golden West errors.
Golden West got within one point at 29-28, but a kill from Antwain Aguillard sealed the game three win for Long Beach, 30-28.
Long Beach appeared to be on its way to an easy fourth game win. The Vikings took a commanding 16-11 lead before Golden West slowly chipped away and eventual tied the game 24-24.
A McKelvie kill tied the game at 28 and a LBCC error gave Golden West a 29-28 lead. Golden West looked poised to force a deciding fifth game. But a kill by Aguillard and a pair of blocks by Aguillard and Bennett sealed the game four win 31-29 and gave the Vikings the state championship.
Aguillard posted 20 kills and seven blocks as well as a .741 hitting percentage on his way to being named state tournament most valuable player.
“Antwain’s performance at the tournament has to be one of the best in playoff history,” said Totorp. “He ended the match with what he does best, a block. He’s been one of the most coachable and best athletes I have ever had. It will be great to see him play next year at Long Beach State.”
Joining Aguillard on the all-tournament team were Bennett (13 kills, 6 digs) and Chuck Chamberlain (14 kills, 3 digs). Andrew Marques led all with 70 assists for Long Beach.
“Casey played amazing, it’s been a tough year for him,” Totorp said. “Chuck has been our captain and a leader. He’s been a great Viking. Andrew is a great setter. He played like a veteran and really stepped up for us.”
Long Beach closes the season with an 18-1 record.
“We’re happy to get another state title,” Totorp said. “We’ll enjoy it for a while and look forward to next year.”
Golden West (14-6) had four players post double-digit kills with McKelvie leading the way with 18. Kirk Francis posted 14 digs and Sam Morehouse led GWC with 39 assists.
Greg Smith and Rick Brazee were named to the all-tourney team for the Rustlers.
2009 All-State Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player: Antwain Aguillard, Long Beach
Casey Bennett, Long Beach
Chuck Chamberlain, Long Beach
Greg Smith, Golden West
Rick Brazee, Golden West
Quinn Lukens, Santa Monica
Jake Melone, Orange Coast