Corsairs Volleyball Dominates Trade Tech

The Santa Monica College Corsair defense consisting of setter Hunter Douglas #21 (left, white) and middle-hitter Nick Kostetsky #8 (right, white) prepare for the incoming spike from the Los Angeles Trade Tech Beaver offense during the Corsairs 3-0 blowout victory against the Tech Beavers in the Santa Monica College (SMC) Pavilion at the SMC main campus in Santa Monica California, on Friday, March 30 2018. (Matthew Martin/Corsair Photo)

Santa Monica College Corsair middle-hitter Vecas Lewin #15 (left, white) nails a very powerful spike into the Los Angeles Trade Tech Beaver defense during the Corsairs 3-0 blowout victory against the Tech Beavers in the Santa Monica College (SMC) Pavilion at the SMC main campus in Santa Monica California, on Friday, March 30 2018. (Matthew Martin/Corsair Photo)

Santa Monica College Corsair Libero Elijah Chambers #3 (center/left, blue) shrugs to one of his teammates after losing a point to The Los Angeles Trade Tech College Beavers during the Corsairs 3-0 blowout victory against the Tech Beavers in the Santa Monica College (SMC) Pavilion at the SMC main campus in Santa Monica California, on Friday, March 30 2018. (Matthew Martin/Corsair Photo).

Santa Monica College Corsair middle-hitter Nick Kostetsky #8 (left, white) leaps in the air to hit a very powerful spike into the defense of the Los Angeles Trade Tech Beavers during the Corsairs 3-0 blowout victory against the Tech Beavers in the Santa Monica College (SMC) Pavilion at the SMC main campus in Santa Monica California, on Friday, March 30 2018. (Matthew Martin/Corsair Photo).

With the game about to start, Santa Monica Corsairs Men's Volleyball looked to go to an even .500 as they hosted the Los Angeles Trade Tech Beavers this Friday evening on March 30. The Corsairs started set one off strong with a 14-6 lead. Corsair's number 21, Hunter Douglas contributed by making some great sets, along with some amazing spikes by their team captain, #9 Rowdy Lennon.

Lennon continued his excellent play with an incredible spike off of a jumping serve to bring the score to 17-6 for SMC. With Trade Tech unable to maintain a solid rally with the Corsairs, SMC dominated the first set 25-12, as it came to an end with a bad serve by LA Trade Tech's outside hitter.

At the beginning of set number two, Lennon kept on the pressure by making a huge spike to get things going, as the Corsairs started right where they'd left off with an early 4-1 lead. Trade Tech continued to hurt themselves in this second set by making blocks that went out of bounds, not being able to make quality sets, and being in an illegal formation. With the score at 14-6 SMC, the tides suddenly turned and the Corsairs were the ones hurting themselves with costly mistakes, but maintained a solid lead with a score was 17-10. Santa Monica eventually ended the second set by winning 25-14.

With the third set about to start, the Corsairs' team confidence was high and Trade Tech didn't seem to have any answers for the hard hitting and good passing attack of the Corsairs. The Corsairs held a strong 10-7 lead in the third set, but Trade Tech showed resilience as they refused go out quietly. With the gap narrowing, Beavers were still trailing 14-11. With #21 Hunter Douglas serving, and the score at 15-11, the Corsairs started to take a commanding lead by starting a three score run.

But the SMC swept the match 3-0 with another win in the 3rd set with the final score 25-15. Key players from the game were Captain Rowdy Lennon, and setter Hunter Douglas.

At the end of the game, Rowdy Lennon was asked how he feels about his team's 6-6 record, and whether it was a good indication of this team's ability. Lennon said, "No, I think we are way better than what our record shows, and sometimes we have little mental breakdowns that stop us from being the team we're supposed to be."

The Corsairs were without their head coach Jackson Meticchechia for this game. When asked about the teams losses, considering their dominating performance against Trade Tech, Assistant Coach, Dan Freeman, said, "Other teams have stepped us against us, and there is a target on our backs because we have been a pretty successful team year in and year out."

The Corsairs look to move forward from their win and continue their success in order to be able to qualify for playoffs, with two games left for the season. Their next game will be their final home game of the season during SMC's Spring Break on Wednesday, April 11.