The Long Beach City College women’s volleyball team was looking to make a statement Wednesday night, hosting previously unbeaten MiraCosta. The Vikings have won their conference in the last few years but have been looking to prove they’re ready to compete at the state level. They did just that with an impressive sweep of a traditional state power, 26-24, 26-24, 25-15.
“I think we’re getting there,” said head coach Misty May-Treanor. “We’re starting to settle into a lineup that we like.”
May-Treanor is trying to use a rigorous nonconference schedule to prepare her team for the state playoffs, and allowed her team to play through some stressful situations late in games without calling a timeout.
The Vikings blew a 22-17 lead in the first set and trailed 23-22, forcing May-Treanor to call for a TO; after that they rallied and won the set 26-24. In the second set they watched a 23-20 lead evaporate before she asked for a break, then fell behind 24-23 out of the timeout before rallying to win three straight points.
“We want our passers to understand that they don’t always have to make a perfect pass,” she said. “There’s five other players out there, sometimes you just have to dig it up.”
LBCC got 12 kills from Sierra Davis, who also had five digs and a block.
“We’re playing much more as a team this year,” said Davis, who is a returning sophomore. “We have a lot of freshman but they’re following our lead.”
One of those freshmen is setter Levila Iosua, who had 30 assists and seven digs.
“I think this is a really complete team, I’m excited for this season,” said Iosua.
LBCC (3-1) hits the road for a pair of matches in Santa Barbara this weekend, continuing their tough non conference schedule.