10:00pm |  The Long Beach City College men’s volleyball team began is state championship title defense with a 3-0 non-conference sweep over visiting Palomar College, 30-19, 30-24, 30-26, on Wednesday at LBCC.

Both freshmen Matt Vaughan and Randy Preval were impressive in their first regular season matches for the Vikings. Vaughan totaled 11 kills, seven digs, and six aces while Preval had 11 kills and three blocks.

LBCC (1-0) cruised to easy wins in game one and two. But in game three, Palomar rushed out to a 7-2 lead. The Vikings eventually tied up the game at 11-11 before taking a commanding 18-13 advantage on their way to the sweep.

Freshman Chris Austin led LBCC with 25 kills, and sophomore Troy Crutchfield had a team-high 10 digs.

For Palomar (0-1), Jordan Taratino led the Comets with 13 kills while Sam Richmond totaled 27 assists.

Long Beach returns to action on Friday (Feb. 5) at 6 p.m. when it hosts Golden West College in a rematch of last year’s state championship final. 

Reports From LBCC