NEWS

Warriors Finish 2nd At Long Beach Invitational

January 30, 2012

The men’s volleyball team has a tough act to follow after the women’s team made it to the state championships in the fall. But they got the season started on the right foot, finishing in second place at the Long Beach Invitational Tournament on Jan. 29. 

The Warriors faced some stiff competition in the one-day tournament that saw nine quality teams make an appearance. The competition was a best-of-three format during the first two rounds of pool play, followed by a one-set, winner take all format in the championship round. 

Things didn’t start off so well for the Warriors as they lost both of their matches in the first round of pool play, losing 2-0 (25-19, 27-25) to Irvine Valley and then dropping a 2-0 (25-20, 26-24) decision to Santa Barbara. 

The Warriors bounced back in the second round of pool play, scoring a 2-1 (25-16, 23-25, 15-7) victory over Golden West but then lost to L.A. Pierce in straight sets (25-21, 27-25). Their 1-3 record gave the Warriors the No. 7 seed in the Championship Playoff Round, where they really shined. 

The Warriors started by taking down No. 2 Orange Coast College 25-23. They followed that with 25-19 win over No. 6 Santa Barbara, who defeated L.A. Pierce in the previous round. That victory propelled the Warriors to the championship match, where they faced off again against Irvine Valley. The Lasers proved to be too much again as they dropped the Warriors, 25-18. The Warriors will kick off their traditional non-conference schedule this week when they travel to Palomar.

2011 News

Two players from last year’s Men’s volleyball team have received scholarship offers to continue their careers out of state this upcoming spring.

Nick Dimarco, the two-year starting OPP from South High School, has received a scholarship to play for Lourdes College of the NAIA. The Gray Wolves pick up a solid player who played in 19 matches for the Warriors last season. Dimarco recorded 248 kills, 75 blocks, 118 digs, 13 aces and had a .287 hitting percentage last year.

Race Munger has also received a scholarship offer to play for Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. Munger played middle blocker for the Warriors last season as a freshman and will study psychology at Carthage. Munger played in 19 matches and tallied 79 kills, 95 blocks, 8 digs and had a .200 hitting percentage.

“Race worked very hard,” men’s volleyball head coach Richard Blount said. “Everyone liked Race. He continued to improve as the season went on and I wish we had him for his second season.”

DiMarco's 23 kills and five blocks lifts ECC past S.D. City
Led by Hovland and DiMarco, ECC defeats Palomar 3-1
California Community College Men's Volleyball Coaches Association