So, I decided this Wednesday to watch Long Beach City College's women's volleyball team in action against El Camino College. Here's the verdict. As the old saying goes, Rome was not built in a day. Translate that to LBCC Women's Volleyball, this team did not win a conference title overnight in spite of a massive turnaround under Misty May-Treanor. All of the lossses that this team had were in five against teams ranked sixth (Cypress), seventh (Mira Costa) and eighth (El Camino) in the state. No other losses were incurred. 13 of the 18 victories by LBCC were sweeps. (18 as of this post. Worse the team can finish is 18-5.)
This is unheard of. In the past, LBCC women's volleyball was absolutely horrible to watch. We simply were not a competitive team. With a changing of the guard at El Camino next year, and with the Lady Vikings on the rise, LBCC are doing better than Long Beach State. Both teams are on pace to finish second in their respective conference, but LBCC's record (18-4) is slightly better than LBSU's (17-10) wins wise, but when you take into consideration the improvement in talent, LBCC is starting to turn the tables.
The question will have to be asked: how long will Misty May-Treanor coach the women's volleyball and beach volleyball teams? With Brian Gimmillaro soon to step down in a few years, it may not be long before we have an immediately successor. A similar case regarding Mauricio Ingrassia saw Long Beach State women's soccer win conference tournament titles and participate in national tournaments on a frequent basis. I think if LBCC win state, LBSU has to take a look at this.
Of course, there is the possibility that Misty decides to have a longevity similar to a living legend in Le Valley Pattison. But with May being a legend at the Beach, you have to wonder if LBCC are able to pull off a miracle and keep Misty May-Treanor on the books at #VGOH for at least a decade or so. In any case, this result is expected for now. But the signs are present: LBCC Women's Volleyball is finally on the rise.
That being said, this effort against ElCo is similar to the football team's efforts against Saddleback this season: the inability to manage games against proud opposition that don't know how to lose very often. Misty will need to start recruiting high school talent in the area and also in ElCo's territory while pitching the benefits of an A.A. or A.S. degree (and the benefits are real, just so you know) so that this resurging team can stop the likes of Mira Costa, Cypress and especially El Camino on a consistent basis and finally be on par with the men. I am very confident that unless LBCC does the unthinkable and wins State this year, Misty's going to be in your company for a long time so enjoy it, Vikings fans. Who knows...she might even be in the Hall of Champions years from now!?
El Camino won 27-29, 19-25, 25-18, 25-13, 15-10. Fortunately, the football team is getting El Camino's number now and their victory offset's the Lady Vikings not getting it done yet on their end.