City College men’s volleyball suffered a disappointing loss to the Irvine Valley Lasers in straight sets, 3-0 (30-26, 30-20, 30-22) at home April 7.

Knights’ Coach Jed Stotsenberg does not think the 3-0 score describes the true nature of the game.

“We played a high level match,” Stotsenberg said. “We left everything on the court. The score does not dictate how that game was played. It was a great match.”

Stotsenberg added, “The difference between us winning and not winning is that IVC, who is the number one team in our league right now, does the little things very well.”

Irvine Valley College is now 15-2 with a 10-1 conference record. Lasers’ head coach Ki Yi was very complimentary of the Knights as a team.

Two players in particular, stood out in his mind.

“Steve Rindfleisch and Skylar del Sol both do a great job,” Yi said. “(del Sol) could start, in my opinion, for any junior college out there.”

Yi continued, “(Rindfleisch) is a big force down there. (The Knights) have some good players.”

The Knights are 7-9 overall and rank fifth in conference. City may not see a postseason this year, however, Coach Stotsenberg still sees the season as a success.

“My goal as a coach is to make sure we’re playing our best volleyball at the last game of the season (and right now) we are playing the best volleyball of the season,” Stotsenberg said.

While Coach Stotsenberg has a broader goal for the team, he also wants his team to finish strongly. The Knights want to win the rest of their games and finish fourth in the conference.

“It would be nice to take down Orange Coast College which is the No. 2 team in the conference right now,” Stotsenberg commented.

Stotsenberg is proud of his team’s spirit and their commitment to playing high-level volleyball.

“These guys are still hungry to learn,” Stotsenberg added. “They show up and want to fight.”