The San Diego Mesa College vs. Long Beach City College 2023 California Community College Athletics Association Men’s Volleyball State Championships semifinal match will be live streamed on the Bay Area Sports Online Sports Network (BAOSN).
Please use this link only to view:
ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO MESA OLYMPIANS (No. 4 SEED: 18-5, 7-2 Pacific Coast Athletic Conference)
The Olympians have been in the middle of a historic season after making the CCCAA Semifinals for the first time. The 2023 season continues a great program run for San Diego Mesa, which earned a quarterfinal berth last year.
The team’s 18 victories are tied for the most in the state with Long Beach City. They had a pair of six-match winning streaks during the year but finished second in the PCAC after dropping two of three to San Diego Miramar, the eventual conference champion.
The Olympians enter the semifinals after pulling off a 3-2 reverse sweep victory over No. 5 Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals. After dropping the second set, 26-24, the Olympians took over the match and scored 25-20, 25-15, 15-9 wins in the last three sets to advance.
Tripler Letuligasenoa led the charge for the Olympians this season with 236 kills. He averaged 3.23 per set and attacked at a resounding .388 percentage, which ranked second in the state. As a team, the Olympians led the state in nearly all the major categories with 937 kills, 899 assists, 912 digs, and 193 blocks. They placed second in the state with 138 service aces.
ABOUT THE LONG BEACH CITY VIKINGS (No. 1 SEED: 18-1, 12-0 Western State Conference)
The Vikings are easily the hottest team entering the final four as they have won 17 straight matches and have won 45 straight sets. Their last dropped set came in the first set of their 3-1 victory over Orange Coast on Feb. 15 in Long Beach. The Vikings are tied for the most wins in the state (18) with their semifinals opponent; San Diego Mesa.
The Vikings have advanced to the state championship match for three straight seasons (no state championships held in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 Pandemic) and will be looking for their 11th state title overall and first since 2019.
The Vikings were led offensively by Matthew Pennala and his 168 kills in 61 sets played during the regular season. He averaged 2.75 kills per set and posted a .296 attack percentage. Cole Oliver (145 kills, .350 pct) and Georgi Binev (139 kills, .378 pct) round out the three-headed monster that is the Vikings attack.
In addition, setter Sean Nguyen dished out 596 assists and a 10.28 per set average, which both led the state during the regular season. To top it off, sophomore and 2022 CCCAA All-Tournament selection Julian Zavala anchors the defense as he posted 131 digs with a 2.26 per set average.