Women’s Volleyball: Vikings rally for five-set win over San Diego Mesa

Freshman outside hitter Raegan Heitzig posted a match-high 11 kills and 18 digs off the bench to spark the Long Beach City College women's volleyball team to a 3-2 come-from-behind win over visiting San Diego Mesa College on Wednesday night at LBCC.

Long Beach won in five sets (15-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13) for the second match in a row and improved to 2-1 overall this season. The loss was the first for of the year for defending Pacific Coast Athletic Conference co-champion San Diego Mesa as the Olypians fell to 2-1.

Mesa cruised to a 25-15 win in set one. And after trailing midway through set two, Heitzig came off the bench to help lead the Viking surge.

With Mesa up 2-1, the Vikings fought back one again to take set four and force a deciding fifth set.

Long Beach appeared to be on its way to an easy win after jumping ahead 8-3 in the fifth. But Mesa wouldn't quit as the Olympians rallied to win 10 of the next 12 points to take a 12-10 advantage over the Vikings.

But just like Mesa, Long Beach wasn't about to call it quits either. A Mesa net violation and a kill by LBCC freshman  Nella Poyer tied the score at 12.

A pair of kills by Heitzig, including the match-winner, and another kill by sophomore Ceci Cisneros sealed the win for the Vikings.

"This was such a great win for us," said LBCC head coach Suzie Witmer. "We played together as a team and everything finally just clicked. The heart, intensity, and desire were all there. It was nice to see them play how we knew they could play."

Cisneros totaled nine kills and nine blocks, while sophomore Seferina Starks added nine kills and 11 digs.

Long Beach conludes a three-match homestand when it hosts Chaffey College on Friday (Sept. 10) in a 5 p.m. non-conference contest.