Men's Volleyball State Title Up For Grabs
3C2A Men's Volleyball State Championships Bracket
LONG BEACH – After a grueling 2026 season, the men's volleyball title will finally be up for grabs as the 3C2A Men's Volleyball State Championships begin this Thursday night at Long Beach City College.
In the first of Thursday's two semifinal matches, it will be defending state champion, Golden West College against Fullerton College at 5 p.m. The nightcap will feature host Long Beach City College taking on Santa Barbara City College beginning at 7 p.m. The winner of each match will battle for the state championship on Saturday at LBCC beginning at 7 p.m. All matches will be streamed live for free.
Here is a team-by-team breakdown heading into the State Final Four…
GOLDEN WEST COLLEGE (22-3) – Coach Nick Amado's Rustlers -- last year's state champs -- look to successfully defend their crown after another successful 2026 campaign. After opening the season 16-1, GWC stubbed its toes a bit, losing 3-of-5 to Orange Coast, San Diego Mesa, and Miramar before righting the ship with a revenge win at OCC in four sets and a dominating three-set sweep over Santa Monica in the playoff opener.
Freshman Gino Viggiano has been the Rustlers' big hitter this year with a team-best 210 kills to go along with a team best 123 digs, 33 blocks, and 11 aces. GWC has plenty of offensive weapons to choose from with Aidan Dubno (194 kills), Noah Nelson (138 kills), Frankie Gates (111 kills), and AJ Kuebrich (107 kills) adding to the Rustlers' depth.
Setters John Braunstein (424 assists) and Bryce Nehova (329 assists) help get these sluggers the ball, while Kenneth Olmos (106 digs) and Keegan Martyn (107 digs) join Viggiano among the team's best at keeping the ball off the floor.
GWC played Fullerton early in the season and swept past the Hornets, 25-10, 25-18, 25-16 on February 13.
FULLERTON COLLEGE (15-8) – Coach Eddie Rapp's Hornets have shown this message to be true: it's not how you start, it's how you finish. And the 2026 Hornets are finishing as strong as any of the four remaining teams left in the State Final Four.
Even after a tough, five-set loss to Long Beach, the Hornets bounced back and overcame not one but two 0-2 holes to win back-to-back matches against Santa Monica (23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 15-9) in the regular-season finale and top-seeded Orange Coast (24-26, 20-25, 28-26, 26-24, 15-12) in the playoff opener to earn their spot in the "Big Dance".
Playing with aggression and confidence, the Hornets are led by Samuel Chavez with 283 kills, 100 digs, 48 total blocks, and a team-best 25 aces. Fellow OH Logan Busch is close behind with 230 kills to go along with 148 digs, 40 blocks, with fellow sluggers Jasper Nadelson (188 kills, state No. 2 112 total blocks), Curtis Lee (131 kills, 59 digs, 16 aces), and Seth Asoka (100 kills, 57 digs).
The 1-2 passing combo of Emiliano Razo (509 assists, 89 digs, 13 aces) and Yun Bae (350 assists, 59 digs) pace the Hornet offense, while libero Saman Bagheri has been all over the FC gym floor with a team-best 203 digs, good for fifth-most in the state.
LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE (17-8) – After kicking off the season with back-to-back 0-3 losses to Golden West and Orange Coast, a spot in the State Final Four seemed like a dream more than a reality. But the Vikings, coached by Joshua Nehls, created their own reality and ended the year winning eight of their last nine matches, including a three-set sweep over Miramar College in the Elite Eight (25-22, 25-23, 25-22).
Ezekiel Sablan is the Vikings' go-to hitter with an impressive 233 kills to go along with 134 digs, 31 aces (team best) and 29 total blocks. Much like the other three remaining schools, the Vikings are many-hitters deep with Alden Jacobs (197 kills, 167 digs, 15 aces), Noah Pannek (166 kills, 64 digs, team-best 80 total blocks), and Ethan Hammond (136 kills, 40 total blocks).
More of a traditional one-setter style, the Vikings' offense is directed by setter Ryder Toaolo, whose 700 assists are third-best in the state and tops among the remaining four schools in the championship tournament.
But perhaps the strength of the Vikings is their defense, as evidenced by their 1,216 total digs, by far the most in the state and over 300 more than any of the remaining teams in the Final Four (Fullerton, 895). LBCC libero Sergio Garcia leads the team, the Final Four and the state with 280 digs, with Jacobs (167) and Tuaolo (156) among the state's top 10 in that category.
SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE (19-4) – Led by head coaches, Bridget Kulech and Kat Niksto, the Vaqueros are picking the best time to play their best volleyball, going 12-1 over their final 13 matches, including a hard-fought five-set win over San Diego Mesa in the Elite Eight (25-20, 17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 15-11).
The top hitter for the Vaqueros and the top hitter among the remaining schools in the "Big Dance" is Mykolas Petritias, whose 299 kills is third-most in all of California. In addition to his offense, his defense isn't too shabby either with 130 digs and 65 total blocks. (Oh, and his 44 aces are the second-most in the state, too.)
Speaking of blocks, Keegan Hubbard ranks third in the state with 89 total blocks to go along with 145 kills (.411 hitting percentage), while Nick Schultz is close behind with 83 total blocks (fifth-most in the state) to go along with 143 kills and an impressive .425 hitting percentage.
The setting responsibilities are led by the 1-2 punch of Ayden Welch (501 assists, 107 digs) and Devon Russell (405 assists, 83 digs)
Luke Steinert anchors the defense with a team-best 171 digs, which is seventh-best in the state.
The Vaqueros are 2-0 against the Vikings this season, winning a pair of hard-fought, five-set marathon matches. In the first encounter on March 6, SBCC topped LBCC, 21-25, 25-21, 14-25, 25-22, 17-15, while on April 1, the Vaqueros won in Long Beach, 18-25, 25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 15-8.
Courtesy of Tony Altobelli, CCCSIA