The Pierce College men’s volleyball team defeated Santa Barbara City College in an up and down 5 set thriller at home Wednesday March 6.
Both teams battled back and forth with small runs of kills and errors which resulted in a tie breaking nail bitter.
Pierce’s 6’2 opposite hitter Robbie Rutecki came out blazing hot, dishing out kills from every section of the court, ending the night with 22 kills.
“I trusted the setter to put the ball where it needed to be and just did what I was taught in practice,” said Rutecki.
Even with Rutecki’s aggressive offense, Pierce lost the first set 21 – 25 due to an all-around team effort from SBCC who managed to prevail despite their many errors.
Pierce players were guilty of a few mistakes themselves, like not fully extending their arms when contacting the ball.
“Around the second game we really buckled down and cut down on our unforced errors,” Rutecki added.
Pierce returned the favor in the second set by beating SBCC 25 – 23, despite a 0 to 6 start due to SBCC’s 6’6 middle blocker Aquiles Montoya.
“He’s a great hitter,” said Rutecki. “We just adjusted to how we were playing our defense.”
Pierce’s defensive surge was led by middle blocker Evan Bender who had four assisted blocks and two solo to contribute to the 11 made by the team.
“I am really focused on protecting at the net,” said Bender. “We have a great coaching staff that gets us mentally prepared for the game.”
SBCC captured the third set, 25 to 23 and put Pierce in a must win situation for the 4th set now being down 2 – 1.
Co captain Dan Williams, who had eight kills of his own, delivered a couple of back to back kills that gave Pierce the lead and eventually the set which evened the score at two a piece with a 25 to 20 4th set victory.
“Credit to Pierce, they came back,” said Armen Zakarian, head coach for SBCC. “I credit Pierce’s discipline by knowing who their studs are and who they’re going to in those pressure situations.”
Pierce and SBCC put the audience on an emotional roller coaster as the 5th set had no clear winner, until Williams yet again put Pierce on his back with a kill right down the middle that ended the set at 17 – 15 and won the game.
“It was an amazing game, but even though we are undefeated in conference games we are not satisfied,” said Bender. “We are still hungry.”
This is Pierce’s second straight victory, next up is a trip to Long Beach City College on March 8.
