Rustlers take 5-set thriller from Irvine Valley

Golden West had to rally many times and it paid off as the Rustlers earned a 5-set victory by a 25-23, 20-25, 23-25, 27-25, 15-12 score at home.

It was a tough match from start to finish that featured too many lead changes to count. Golden West (6-6, 2-3) was able to capture the first set despite being down by as many as 6 points. The Rustlers battled back after Irvine Valley's (7-4, 3-1) 6-point streak to tie the set at 17 and 20.The Lasers routinely hit the ball out late and that allowed Golden West to seal the win.

Irvine Valley owned the second set keeping its leads intact throughout. Golden West did rally at the end down 7, but the hole was too deep to dig out of. What kept Golden West in check was the fantastic play of Kevin Yaz. Yaz was a true 2-way player firing hard kill shots and using his long arms to prevent Rustler points.

Set 3 was close the entire way with Golden West leading by a small margin until the Lasers tied it at 20. It was back-and-forth after that, but the Lasers came out the victors and put Golden West in a must-win situation.

Back-and-forth was the name of set 4 as the leads were small up to the end. Irvine Valley tied the set at 23 and 24 to force extra points, but Golden West put on its rally shoes and were able to secure a tight victory to force a fifth set. Jared Chasse stood out in this set and the entire match offensively for Golden West tallying 17 kills out of the 59 recorded.

Irvine Valley had the edge in the fifth set leading 8-6 at the change. When the Lasers started to pull away, the Rustlers caught fire and tied the set at 12. Golden West's defense did not allow Irvine Valley to score anymore and secured its first home victory since Feb. 19 and in conference play as well.

No one player stood out on defense for Golden West as it was a true team effort. Jarrett Neal led the way with 19 digs, and right behind him was Kevin Gorence with 16 and Lalau Togagae with 15. Michael Vargas also had double-digit digs with 10 helping total an amazing 81 digs. Play on the net was also quite special as the team totaled 27 blocks lead by Bert Peyton's 7. DJ Koenen produced 5 blocks as well and 3 other players tallied 4.

The Beach Boys will be on the road for a bit traveling to San Diego Mesa Friday and driving down the 405 to Orange Coast March 21. March 26 against San Diego City will be the next Rustler home match.