2009 Match Stories
By Dave Loveton
SBCC sports information
lovetron15@cox.net -- Santa Monica at SBCC, 6 p.m. Santa Monica def. SBCC 3-1 Records: 4-6, 0-3
Vaqueros fall to Santa Monica in four
SBCC hits just .037 in fourth straight setback
SBCC couldn't overcome its own mistakes on Friday night in a 3-1 WSC men's volleyball loss to Santa Monica. The Vaqueros (4-6, 0-3) made numerous hitting and serving miscues in a 30-21, 30-24, 28-30, 30-26 setback.
Santa Barbara, playing its first home match in a month, converted just .037 percent of its hitting attempts.
"I felt like we didn't play disciplined and I'm a big believer in the John Wooden philosphy that disciplined teams win," said coach Melody Parker, whose team has lost four straight. "We weren't staying focused on the small details like where they need to go and being prepared before they touch the ball. We seemed unfocused."
Tyson Rietz led the Vaqueros with 17 kills and 11 digs while Chris Newcomb had eight kills and Mark Hebda seven. Jim Wielebnicki, the WSC dig leader, contributed 10 digs and setter Jacob Denitz had 39 assists.
Santa Monica (7-3, 2-1) jumped ahead 18-9 in the first set and 18-12 in the second. The third set was close throughout with the Vaqueros taking their biggest lead of the night, 28-25, on an ace by Newcomb. Rietz capped the 30-28 win with a kill off the block.
"In the third and fourth games, our guys finally saw that this team was beatable but we weren't clicking as a team. We gave them a lot of unforced errors. I didn't think Santa Monica did that much to us to earn that win. We did it to ourselves."
This was the only home appearance in a seven-match stretch for SBCC. The Vaqueros will be on the road next week at Moorpark (Wednesday) and L.A. Pierce (Friday).
Friday, March 13
Wednesday, March 18 -- SBCC at Moorpark, 6 p.m. Moorpark def. SBCC 3-0 (30-23, 33-31, 30-21) Records: 4-7, 0-4
Mooorpark sweeps Vaqueros
Acker-DeOliveira hits .615 in fifth straight loss
SBCC extended Moorpark to overtime in the second set of Wednesday's WSC men's volleyball match but couldn't finish the job in a 30-23, 33-31, 30-21 loss to the Raiders.
Max Acker-DeOliveira had nine kills and hit .615 for the visiting Vaqueros, who dropped their fifth straight to fall to 4-7 overall and 0-4 in the WSC. Moorpark improved to 11-1 and 4-1.
Chris Newcomb led Santa Barbara with 12 kills and Tyson Rietz, playing with an injured shoulder, added 10. Jacob Denitz had 41 assists.
"We played really well in the first two games," said coach Melody Parker. "Our hitting average was a little better tonight. oorpark is a good team and we showed we can play with them in the second game. We need to work on our confidence."
SBCC will play its sixth road game in the last seven matches on Friday at L.A. Pierce.
Friday, March 20 -- SBCC at L.A. Pierce, 6 p.m. PIerce def. SBCC 3-0 (30-21, 30-26, 30-26) Records: 4-8, 0-5
Vaqueros fall to L.A. Pierce
Newcomb has 13 kills for SBCC
Chris Newcomb had 13 kills and SBCC showed improvement on Friday night in Woodland Hills but it wasn't enough to prevent a 30-21, 30-26, 30-26 men's volleyball loss to L.A. Pierce.
SBCC (4-8, 0-5) finished the first round of Western State Conference play without a win but coach Melody Parker still expressed optimism.
"The scores don't really reflect this team and the way we're playing," said Parker. "We showed improvement tonight and were real close in the last two games. Pierce was scrappy and got a lot of our good hits.
"We learned a lot and we're looking forward to playing them again."
Tyson Rietz added 10 kills, Jim Wielebnicki had 13 digs and Adam Frank "did a nice job hitting," according to Parker.
The Vaqueros will be at home on Wednesday at 6 p.m. against El Camino.
Wednesday, March 25 -- El Camino at SBCC, 6 p.m. SBCC def. El Camino 3-2 Records: 5-8, 1-5
Vaqueros rally to beat El Camino in five
Hebda, Rietz combine for 42 kills in first WSC win
Mark Hebda pounded a season-high 22 kills and hit .515 Wednesday night, leading SBCC to a thrilling five-game men's volleyball victory over El Camino at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 28-30, 30-24, 30-25, 26-30, 15-12.
Tyson Rietz added 20 kills for the Vaqueros (5-8, 1-5), who got their first Western State Conference win of the season and snapped a six-match losing streak. SBCC has played two five-game matches this year and both came against the Warriors. El Camino rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Vaqueros 3-2 on March 4.
"When we were down 2-1, I said, 'Wow, we're in the this position again, we have to go five with them again?' " said Rietz, who ended the match with a kill off the block. "But I was up for it. ... We got in a rut and hopefully this will bring us out of it."
Blocking was a big key for the Vaqueros with five players having five or more block assists. Max Acker-DeOliveira led the way ith nine blocks, followed by Hebda (7), Adam Frank (6) and Rietz and Chris Newcomb (5). Newcomb also had 14 kills and Frank hit .353.
"We've been working all-week long on our blocking and it's starting to pay off," said coach Melody Parker. "I finally figured out what it was -- preparation before you hit the ball. And also the mentality of this team. We've gone through some growing pains and they're finally starting to buy into the philosophy of the program. They're starting to believe in themselves."
The Vaqueros jumped ahead 8-3 and 20-9 in the fourth set and 5-1 in the decisive fifth set. The Warriors (5-8, 1-5) pulled to within 11-9 before a block by Frank and DeOliveira and an ace serve by Justin Conmy brought the Vaqueros to match point.
SBCC will play three of its final four matches at home, starting Wednesday against Long Beach.
Wednesday, April 1 -- Long Beach at SBCC, 6 p.m. Long Beach def. SBCC 3-0 (30-12, 30-26, 30-25) Records: 5-9, 1-6
First-place Long Beach sweeps Vaqueros
SBCC builds 8-point lead in third game before fading
With its top two setters sidelined and its top hitter out for the first set, SBCC had a big mountain to climb on Wednesday in a WSC men's volleyball match at the Sports Pavilion. Long Beach City overcame a 21-13 deficit in the third game and went on to ost a 30-12, 30-26, 30-25 sweep.
Chris Newcomb led SBCC (5-9, 1-6) with eight kills while Tyson Rietz and Mark Hebda had five apiece. The Vikings, who lead the WSC with a perfect 8-0 mark, won their ninth straight to improve to 14-1.
Setters Jacob Denitz and Justin Conmy weren't available and Rietz missed the first game for a disciplinary reason. Jim Wielebnicki, who normally plays libero, did a good job of filling in at setter, handing out 21 assists.
"He's not really a setter and he was solid," said coach Melody Parker. "And Ross (Gill) showed good ball control at libero with 12 digs. He did a nice job passing too."
SBCC took a 12-6 lead in the third set on seven straight serves by Rietz. The lead grew to 21-13 before Long Beach went on an 11-3 run to tie it at 24. The Vikings scored six of the last seven points to close out the match.
"That's the No. 1-ranked team in California and we were right there with them in the second and third games," noted Parker. "Our team needed to know that they could do it with the lineup we had. I was pleasantly surprised with the way they played in the second and third games. I was disappointed in the way we let that lead slip away in the last game."
SBCC travels to Santa Monica on Friday.
-- SBCC at Santa Monica, 6 p.m Santa Monica def. SBCC 3-1 (30-13, 19-30, 32-30, 30-24)
Inconsistent Vaqueros fall at Santa Monica
Rietz pounds 22 kills in four-game WSC setback
Tyson Rietz racked up 22 kills and hit .333 on Friday night but it wasn't enough for the SBCC men's volleyball team, which dropped a 3-1 decision at Santa Monica. The scores were 30-13, 19-30, 32-30, 30-24.
"If we could be more consistent, we'd beat these teams," said coach Melody Parker. "We need to play like we did in the second game in every game. Tyson played absolutely great volleyball."
Chris Newcomb added 12 kills and 12 digs while Ross Gill dug 11 spikes. Setter Jim Wielebnicki had 44 assists.
In the third game, the Vaqueros (5-10, 1-7) used a 9-2 run to overcome a 22-16 deficit and take a 25-24 lead. Santa Monica eventually won 32-30.
"Our hitting errors cost us this match," Parker stated.
SBCC plays its final two matches at home against Moorpark (Wednesday) and L.A. Pierce (Friday).
Friday, April 3
Wednesday, April 8 -- Moorpark at SBCC, 6 p.m. Moorpark def. SBCC 3-2 (30-27, 30-21, 25-30, 28-30, 15-10)
Vaqueros extend second-place Moorpark to five
SBCC rallies from 2-0 hole, falls in fifth set 15-10
SBCC stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to tie Wednesday's WSC men's volleyball match with powerful Moorpark before falling 3-2 at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 30-27, 30-21, 25-30, 28-30, 15-10.
Tyson Rietz led the Vaqueros (5-11, 1-8) with 23 kills and three blocks while Chris Newcomb had 20 kills and 11 digs. Mark Hebda, a middle blocker from Bishop Diego High, added 10 kills, three blocks and hit .316. Taylor Comden also had 10 kills hile Max Acker-DeOliveira collected a team-high four blocks.
"It was a well-rounded offensive effort," said coach Melody Parker. "That was a great match for a team that's put together with lineup of dedicated players. They're playing well together. Our libero (Jim Wielebnicki) is doing a great job setting. I really thought they were going to pull it off."
Wielebnicki has set the last three matches after the Vaqueros lost both their setters. Rietz, Wielebnicki, Comden and Ross ill had nine digs for the Vaqueros, who've dropped nine of their last 10 matches.
SBCC overcame a 17-12 deficit to win the third set and jumped ahead 10-5 and 17-10 in the fourth. Moorpark (15-2, 8-2) came back to take a 28-26 lead before SBCC reeled off four straight points, capped by a Hebda block and a Rietz kill down the line.
The Vaqueros took a 9-8 lead in the fifth set on a Comden kill but the Raiders scored seven of the last eight points to secure the victory.
"I wanted it for them -- they really deserved it," said Parker. "That was the best volleyball we've played this year in the third and fourth (sets). We're a team that gets better and better, no matter what lineup we have. If we just had a little longer season, we'd be right there."
SBCC completes its schedule on Friday with a 6 p.m. home match against L.A. Pierce.
Friday, April 10 -- L.A. Pierce at SBCC, 6 p.m. Pierce def. SBCC 3-2 Final SBCC records: 5-12, 1-9 WSC
SBCC wins first two sets in season finale
It was deja vu all over again for the SBCC men's volleyball team in Friday's season finale at the Sports Pavilion. The Vaqueros lost a five-set WSC match for the second time in three days, falling to L.A. Pierce 27-30, 21-30, 34-32, 30-17, 15-11.
It was the fourth straight loss for the Vaqueros (5-12, 1-9), who enjoyed big leads in the first two sets. They went ahead 16-6 and 28-20 in the opener before the visitors closed to 29-27. Tyson Rietz, who was playing his final match for SBCC along with sophomore Chris Newcomb, closed out the first game with a blazing spike.
In the second set, they went ahead 17-11 on an ace serve by Rietz and 24-18 on a Newcomb kill. SBCC also led 21-17 in the third set before Pierce went on a 10-5 run to take the upper hand at 27-26.
The Brahams (11-6, 4-6) downed the Vaqueros 3-0 in the first meeting on March 20 in Woodland Hills.
"Our outsides dominated tonight and we had a little trouble with timing in the middle," said coach Melody Parker. "Our transition plays in the first two games were excellent. Some hitting errors did us in in the fourth game. The fifth game was close, it could have gone either way."
The third set was a back-and-forth affair with 11 ties. The Vaqueros fought off three set points before a block by Taylor Comden gave them match point at 31-30. The Brahmas scored four of the last five points, however, to close out the game.
"We had that third game," Parker noted. "When you get that close, then you have to go to a fourth game, there's a little bit of a letdown."
SBCC pulled within one at 11-10 in the tight fifth set before Pierce went on another 4-1 run to end the match.
"I was pleased with the way we kept our composure," said Parker. "I thought we played with class tonight. We played like gentleman who were strong athletes and still focused on what we were doing."
Parker said there was a lot of learning and growth throughout the season.
"I saw a lot of changes that don't show up on the scoreboard," she added. "I saw more maturity and the learning curve is big."
Back to top Pierce rallies to beat Vaqueros in five
