Warriors Score Comeback Victory over Santa Monica

TORRANCE, Calif. --- El Camino College trailed visiting Santa Monica after the first and third sets but the Warriors hung tough and scored a 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-22, 15-11) Western State Conference victory on Friday night at the ECC Gym Complex.

The Warriors (5-9, 3-6) won their second straight conference match despite trailing the Corsairs (8-8, 5-4) after the first and third sets.

Daniel Reilly continued his excellent stretch as he set a new career high with 19 kills on the night with a .250 attacking percentage. He broke his previous career mark of 18 kills which he set in the first meeting between the two teams back on March 10 in Santa Monica, a five-set win for the Corsairs on that occasion.

Along with Reilly, Jake Suson and Jacob Flanagan were excellent for the Warriors on offense as Suson smashed down 13 kills and Flanagan added 11 on a team-high .444 attacking percentage

Mark Antonov dished out 44 assists as he set the Warriors to a collective .223 attacking clip as the team nearly doubled up on the Corsairs' .114 percentage. Antonov also added 14 digs with four blocks and three kills. Liam Heinz led the team with 15 digs.

For the Corsairs, Nate Davis led the charge with 17 kills but was the only player on the team to reach double figures offensively.

The Warriors outhit the Corsairs in each set they won by a wide margin. In the second, the Warriors held a .219 to -.135 edge and in the third ECC posted a .318 percentage compared to a .200 clip for Santa Monica.

The Warriors saved their best for last, attacking at a .529 clip in the fifth set with 12 kills on 17  swings and just three errors. Meanwhile, the Corsairs managed just four kills with three errors on 13 swings in the final set.

The Warriors will now hit the road next week to take on Moorpark (April 5) and Santa Barbara (April 7) before wrapping up the season on April 14 at home against archrival Long Beach.