Pirates join Moorpark, Long Beach, SD Mesa at State Final Four

(Rafael Guerrero, El Camino College Athletics)

TORRANCE - The stage is set for the 2023 California Community College Athletics Association Men's Volleyball State Championships hosted at the El Camino College Gym Complex in Torrance, Calif. as a pair of men's volleyball powerhouses highlight the state final four.

In the first semifinal, the No. 3 seed and defending state champions Orange Coast College will face No. 7 Moorpark at 5 p.m. The Pirates cruised to a three-set victory over No. 6 Miramar in the CCCAA Quarterfinals and will return ECC in hopes of repeating last year's state title run. Meanwhile, the No. 7 Raiders shocked the field with a 3-0 upset win over No. 2 Irvine Valley in the quarterfinals. The Raiders and Pirates will be facing off for the first time this season.

In the second semifinal, No. 1 seed Long Beach City will take on No. 4 seed San Diego Mesa scheduled for 7 p.m. The Vikings advanced to the state final four after securing their 17th straight victory in a 3-0 sweep over No. 8 Santa Monica. The 2022 CCCAA State Runner-Up will take on No. 4 San Diego Mesa after the Olympians stormed back to pull off a 3-2 reverse sweep victory over No. 5 Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals. The teams will also be meeting each other for the first time this year. The two squads are tied for the most victories (18) in the state this year. 

ABOUT THE LONG BEACH CITY VIKINGS (No. 1 SEED: 18-1, 12-0 Western State Conference)
The Vikings are easily the hottest team entering the final four as they have won 17 straight matches and have won 45 straight sets. Their last dropped set came in the first set of their 3-1 victory over Orange Coast on Feb. 15 in Long Beach. The Vikings are tied for the most wins in the state (18) with their semifinals opponent; San Diego Mesa. 

The Vikings have advanced to the state championship match for three straight seasons (no state championships held in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 Pandemic) and will be looking for their 11th state title overall and first since 2019.

The Vikings were led offensively by Matthew Pennala and his 168 kills in 61 sets played during the regular season. He averaged 2.75 kills per set and posted a .296 attack percentage. Cole Oliver (145 kills, .350 pct) and Georgi Binev (139 kills, .378 pct) round out the three-headed monster that is the Vikings attack. 

In addition, setter Sean Nguyen dished out 596 assists and a 10.28 per set average, which both led the state during the regular season. To top it off, sophomore and 2022 CCCAA All-Tournament selection Julian Zavala anchors the defense as he posted 131 digs with a 2.26 per set average.

ABOUT THE ORANGE COAST PIRATES (No. 3 SEED: 16-3, 7-1 Orange Empire Conference)
The Pirates are in familiar territory as they head to El Camino College for the state final four. They claimed a share of the Orange Empire Conference title with Irvine Valley after both squads finished the year 7-1 in conference play. The Pirates claimed their eighth state championship in 2022 after a 3-0 sweep over Long Beach at ECC. Since 2010, the Pirates have appeared in seven CCCAA State Championship matches, winning three state titles (2014, 2017, 2022). 

The Pirates are led offensively by Sebastian Lara. The sophomore outside hitter led the team with 189 kills along with 28 aces, 52 digs and 23 blocks during the regular season. He surpassed double-digit kills nine times including a regular season-best 22 against San Diego Mesa on Feb. 24. 

Meanwhile, Landon Seymour dished out 446 assists and set the team to a .330 attack percentage. The Pirates lost twice to Long Beach early in the season but they have won 13 of their last 14 matches.

ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO MESA OLYMPIANS (No. 4 SEED: 18-5, 7-2 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference)
The Olympians have been in the middle of a historic season after making the CCCAA Semifinals for the first time. The 2023 season continues a great program run for San Diego Mesa, which earned a quarterfinal berth last year.

The team's 18 victories are tied for the most in the state with Long Beach City. They had a pair of six-match winning streaks during the year but finished second in the PCAC after dropping two of three to San Diego Miramar, the eventual conference champion. 

The Olympians enter the semifinals after pulling off a 3-2 reverse sweep victory over No. 5 Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals. After dropping the second set, 26-24, the Olympians took over the match and scored 25-20, 25-15, 15-9 wins in the last three sets to advance.

Tripler Letuligasenoa led the charge for the Olympians this season with 236 kills. He averaged 3.23 per set and attacked at a resounding .388 percentage, which ranked second in the state. As a team, the Olympians led the state in nearly all the major categories with 937 kills, 899 assists, 912 digs, and 193 blocks. They placed second in the state with 138 service aces.

ABOUT THE MOORPARK RAIDERS (No. 7 SEED: 13-6, 8-4 Western State Conference)
The Raiders are this year's Cinderella story at the CCCAA State Championships after not only upsetting No. 2 Irvine Valley in the quarterfinals, but in scoring a sweep over the Lasers to advance. The win was the Raiders' fifth straight win and their ninth victory in their last 11 matches.

During the year, the Raiders finished tied for second in the WSC with Santa Barbara and were led by setter Eddy He. The sophomore dished out 387 assists during the regular season to place 10th in the state and he set the Raiders to a cumulative .229 attacking percentage. 

His primary target was sophomore Michael Stahl who led the team with 158 kills and a 2.68 per set average. On defense, Sean Schmutz patrolled the net with 60 total blocks (five solo) which ranked fifth in the state during the regular season.

ADMISSION INFORMATION
El Camino College will be hosting the 2023 CCCAA State Championships on Thursday, April 27 and Saturday, April 29 at the ECC Gym Complex in Torrance, Calif. 

Admission is as follows:

General Admission: $12

Students, Staff, Faculty, Seniors 60-older and Children 12-under: $8

The CCCAA State Championships are a cashless event. Tickets for each day along with gameday programs can be purchased via HomeTown Ticketing or with a valid debit or credit card on site. All sales are final and no refunds will be issued.

The link to purchase tickets and gameday programs for Thursday's semifinals can be purchased at the following link:

https://cccaa.hometownticketing.com/embed/all  

WATCH IT LIVE!
The 2023 CCCAA State Championships will be live-streamed for free via Bay Area Online Sports Network (BAOSN). The matches may be viewed at the following link:

https://baosn.tv/

MEDIA CREDENTIAL REQUESTS
Any media wishing to be credentialed for any of the matches at the 2023 CCCAA State Championships should submit a request to the following:

Rafael Guerrero, ECC Sports Information Director: rguerrero@elcamino.edu
Mike Robles, CCCAA Director of Communications: mrobles@cccaasports.org

Requests should be submitted no later than 24 hours prior to the first scheduled match at the CCCAA State Championships.