IRVINE, Calif. – The fourth set between Irvine Valley College and Santa Barbara City College went back and forth before the Lasers secured a 30-28 win to seal a 3-1 victory over the Vaqueros.
Santa Barbara dropped the first set 25-18 before pushing Irvine Valley in the second, falling 26-24.
"Excellent team blocking turned the tide of the match in our favor," head coach Marcelo Duarte said.
The Vaqueros battled back in the third set, winning 25-19.
"We had our opportunities to extend the match to a fifth set, but some missed serves and a few other errors cost us," Duarte said.
Tom Altankhuyag led the Vaqueros with 15 kills on 23 attempts. Keegan Hubbard added six kills, while Rocky Brazier paced the team with 24 assists.
Santa Barbara is now 1-2 and will look to even its record Friday against Golden West College at the Sports Pavilion.
