After many years of struggling at the net, the San Diego City College men’s volleyball team has found success this season by capturing two milestone victories last month against L.A. Trade Tech and Mesa College.

On Feb. 20, the Knights defeated L.A. Trade Tech in a 3-0 sweep at home and also captured the team’s first win since the 2012 season.

“The win against L.A. Trade Tech was incredible. During the match our team hit an impressive .452 and we sided out at over 70 percent. It was a solid team performance, individually Kyle Taylor, Shane McAdams and Luke Timm played well offensively,” Head Coach Kevin Pratte said.

“After the match I reminded the team that we have already started the process of changing the culture of San Diego City College men’s volleyball and this win proves we are headed in the right direction,” continued Pratte.

Freshman middle blocker Zach Kramer recorded six kills in the victory and expressed that the win against the Beavers fueled the team to beat Mesa College on Feb. 27.

“The win against (L.A. Trade Tech) was awesome — it definitely sparked us up to go ahead and get the next one because we ended up playing Mesa after that and that was our first time in the team’s history that we won. It was a great feeling to get that win,” Kramer said.

The home game against Mesa College was a five-set thriller; the Olympians took control in the first set by winning 25-15 but the Knights responded by taking the second set, 25-22. As Mesa caught fire in the third set with hard hitting serves and won 25-15 once again, the Knights came back to win the final two sets (25-21, 15-11) by distrusting their offensive rhythm with aggressive serves and winning the battle at the net.

Although the team sits in sixth place in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference with an overall record of 2-8 and a conference record of 1-3, the team is focused to finish the season strong by winning more games and working hard in practice.

“Every match is going to be a dog fight and a challenge to win. It is imperative that we prepare well before every match, continue to pass the ball well, serve aggressive and in the court and finally take aggressive swings offensively,” said Pratte.

The next home game for the Knights will be against conference foe Palomar College on March 13 at 6 p.m. in the Harry West Gym.