CCCMVCA Poll has status quo at the top with Long Beach, Orange Coast, Irvine Valley and San Diego Mesa

Previous Polls l CCCMVCA Poll (Mar. 29) 

IRVINE - The top four teams stayed the same in the latest California Community College Men’s Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll.

But there was some movement down the line with the fourth and fifth spots in the poll getting close.

Long Beach City received each and every first-place vote from coaches to remain at the top. The Vikings have a record of 12-1 overall and 7-0 in the Western State Conference heading into their match on Wednesday night at home against No. 7 Santa Monica. LBCC has swept 10 opponents this season, including the last eight in a row.

The Vikings have four players averaging at least 2.00 kills per set, led by Matthew Pennala at 2.65. Sean Nguyen has done a great job of setting up his hitters and is averaging at state-high 9.50 assists per set.

Orange Coast, second in the state for the second week in a row, defeated Santiago Canyon in its key match last week. The Pirates swept the No. 9 Hawks, 25-18, 25-11, 25-19, on the road last Wednesday. Sebastian Lara continued to shine for OCC, finishing with 18 kills, Myles Henderson added 12 kills, Landon Seymour ended with 39 assists and Hide Nakamura contributed 18 digs. The Pirates are rolling right now.

Irvine Valley remained at No. 3 in the poll after sweeping Golden West and Fullerton on the road last week. Demetre Gossett stood out for the Lasers. In the two matches, he had 22 kills and eight aces and hit .600 against Fullerton on Friday.

Sand Diego Mesa remains just ahead of Pacific Coast Athletic Conference rival Miramar in the poll after the Jets upset the Olympians in a sweep last Friday at Miramar.

Mesa was missing a few key players and had its six-match win streak snapped.

Miramar moved up to No. 5 this week after its 25-22, 25-22, 25-21 victory. Miramar improved its record to 8-4 overall and 4-1 in conference.

Moorpark, at No. 6, lost to No. 1 Long Beach last Friday, but has won four of its last five matches. The Raiders, led by Michael Stahl, have a big match with No. 8 Santa Barbara City Wednesday on the road.

And Santa Monica moved up a spot in the rankings with two wins last week, including sweeping Santa Barbara City at home on Friday. Kane Schwengel had eight kills and Beikwaw Yankey added six kills and six blocks for the Corsairs.

The rest of the top 10 includes Santa Barbara City at No. 8, Santiago Canyon at No. 9, and Antelope Valley at No. 10.

State leaders include Brandon Ta of LA Pierce in kills per set (4.55). Irvine Valley’s Adam Schulte leads in digs per set (3.63), San Diego Mesa’s TJ Letuligasenoa is best in hitting percentage (.398), Moorpark’s Jaxon Rust leads in blocks per set (1.29) and Irvine Valley’s Demetre Gossett is tops in aces per set (0.82).

Orange Coast is first in team hitting percentage at .332 on the year.

Key matches this week include No. 9 Santiago Canyon at No. 3 Irvine Valley, No. 6 Moorpark at No. 8 Santa Barbara City and No. 7 Santa Monica at No. 1 Long Beach City on Wednesday. No. 3 Irvine Valley plays at No. 2 Orange Coast in the opening round of Orange Empire Conference action on Friday night.

(Brent Shaver, CCCMVCA)

Highlighted student-athlete of the week: Beikwaw Yankey (Middle Blocker, So., Santa Monica)

IRVINE - Yankey, a 6-2 middle blocker, had a fantastic week for Santa Monica as the Corsairs swept both of their matches to move into second place in the Western State Conference with a mark of 5-2. No. 7 this week Santa Monica went on the road and swept Antelope Valley on Wednesday and then came home on Friday and defeated No. 8 Santa Barbara in three sets.

Yankey had five kills and three blocks and hit .571 in Santa Monica’s 25-17, 25-14, 25-18 win at Antelope Valley. He was even better in the Corsairs’ 17, 21, 19 win at home over Santa Barbara on Friday. Yankey finished with six kills with no errors in eight attempts (.750%) and added six blocks. He is now averaging 0.90 blocks per set for this 2023 season.