Huntington Beach, Calif. - Golden West men's volleyball (6-1) defeated the Grossmont Griffins (3-2), for their third consecutive set sweep victory, (25-19, 25-23, 27-25).  

It was a high intensity beginning as the three-win Griffins came into Golden West for a Thursday night face-off. Both teams came into the matchup with one loss apiece and looked to avoid a second to continue their successful start to the fresh season. The Rustlers took charge early as they found themselves up 17-10 and dictated the remainder of the first set. The home team set the precedence as they won the first set, 25-19. 

Grossmont came out strong in the second set with three unanswered scores. Midway through, Golden West fought back but the Griffins still held the slight edge, 11-14. The Rustlers climbed back into the game to tie it at 16 points and eventually earn the lead, 18-16. To close out the second set, the two sides went score for score when both teams hit the twenty-point mark. An electrified Golden West bench excited the court on set point as Curtis Harper finished the set with a service ace, 25-23. 

The Griffins began the third set as they did the second with a three score advantage. And again, the Rustlers fought back to tie it at four apiece. It was competitive throughout the third set as the two were tied at 15 points. Grossmont was the first to score 20 points but a kill from Harper tied it at 20. It was a wild end with the Griffins and Rustlers tied at 25 each at the end of the third set. A kill from Jeremiah Quesada finished it off 27-25. 

Harper led the home team in kills with 16 and also collected a team leading two service aces and ten digs. Ezra Vlad was second in kills with seven with four block assists and four digs. It was an overall team win by Golden West as they won their fourth consecutive game and swept their last three opponents. The Rustlers improved to 6-1 on the season and remain undefeated at home. 

NEXT UP: The Rustlers will play their next matchup against the Palomar Comets on Thursday, February 22nd. The matchup will begin at 6pm.