Fullerton won a marathon third set 30-28 on Saturday and went on to beat SBCC 3-2, spoiling the Vaqueros' men's volleyball opener at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 24-26, 25-18, 30-28, 12-25, 15-12.
The Hornets, who are playing their first season, improved to 2-0.
Sophomore Sean Reynaert led the Vaqueros with 14 kills and a .303 hitting percentage. Quinlan Dougherty added 12 kills and Jackson McDonough had 11. Setter Jonathan Baldwin had 45 assists, eight digs and five blocks while Jarrod Jordan had eight kills and eight blocks. Kealakahi Spain led in digs with 10.
Starting libero Matt Bohorquez was injured early in the first set and didn't return to the lineup.
"It's tough to lose in 5 against a good Fullerton team," said first-year coach Jon Newton. "You never want a loss, especially to start the season, but we will be able to learn from this one. The guys did a lot of good things throughout the night."
Santa Barbara only hit .167, .103 and .139 in the first three sets and finished with a .196 hitting percentage. They hit .286 and dominated the fourth set, 25-12, with nine kills and just one error. The Vaqueros had three aces and 23 service errors.
"We will get back in the gym on Monday and make the necessary changes and work on some things that we didn't perform well," Newton said. "I am happy for what is to come with this team and what we will be able to accomplish this season."
SBCC will host Santiago Canyon on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
