The Golden West College Rustlers men’s volleyball team defeated the San Diego Mesa College Olympians 3-1 to win the 3C2A State Men’s Volleyball State Championship Saturday evening at Orange Coast College’s Peterson Gymnasium and was their first men’s volleyball state championship since 2013. Head coach Nick Amado is credited for turning Golden West College Volleyball around and in less than two years into a state champion. It was a full circle moment winning the state championship on his former home floor. Coach Amado said, “It’s very poetic in a way, for us to come in here where I once played for Orange Coast and beat a very good team who we haven’t beaten once all year, in the gym where I played.”
San Diego College Olympians sophomores Trevor Clark and Julian Montes combined for eight kills in the first set, propelling San Diego Mesa College to a 25-16 win. At that time the crowd got into the game, and one could feel the momentum shift. I’ve watched this team for two years and seen most of their matches. I watched them grow through the season and the championships from local to regional to state. For anyone who has competed at a high level in college or professionally, you can sense when there is something special about a team. The real sign of champion teams are ones who can rise to the occasion and come from behind. The Rustlers not only came back to tie but had the quality it takes to be a true champion to get up and then put teams away.
Golden West College freshman and 3C2A State Championship All-Tournament team member, Kai Rodriguez reported afterwards that we just needed to trust our system and feed off of the crowd once we tie it. “The fans gave us the energy so necessary for this win,” Rodriguez said. “The energy after every serve, after every play, everyone’s hype. I don’t think we win without the fans. They were electric and we got pumped.” Unlike the prior matchups against the Olympians, the Rustlers flipped the script and won three straight sets against San Diego Mesa College.
After a back-and-forth start to the second set, multiple kills from Rodriguez and 3C2A State Championship All-Tournament MVP freshman Aidan Powell gave the Rustlers a 25-18 win to even the odds at 1-1. Powell said, “We just dug deep and became a bunch of mad dogs. “We played as hard as we could.” Powell and Clark went spike for spike in the third set, but the Rustlers edged out a 25-21 win to give them a 2-1 match lead.
The Rustlers had an early lead in the fourth set that was washed away after a large run by the Olympians. Rodriguez made a kill and a huge roar from the Golden West College fans carried the momentum of the game from 18-14 to a 25-20 win for the Rustlers. Powell credited his teammates, his coach and the fans for being the reason they won the state championship.
One of the senior players said, “The Doc told all of us we were going to win. It feels really good when everyone believes in us. So positive. It’s great.”
This win was good for Golden West College, students and facility, parents and grandparents and fans that follow the team, for GWC Athletics, for GWC Men’s Volleyball players but I believe much more for Coach Nick Amado who is relegated to being only a part-time coach. Amado, who was a team captain, helped lead Long Beach State to a pair of NCAA National Championships in 2018 and 2019. A two-time AVCA Second Team All-American, Amado was a member of the Big West All-First Team on two separate occasions, and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team in 2019.
Amado also came to Golden West familiar with the California Community College Athletic Association, having played two seasons at Orange Coast College in 2014 and 2015. Amado’s vision is to create a program where student-athletes can come, develop their skills at a high level, get an education, and then transfer to four-year universities. I believe in training and teaching the game the right way, and through that, will leave these student-athletes equipped not only athletically, but also academically to pursue their collegiate dreams.” As someone who has been a general manager at the professional sports level, and a developer of youth, I would say that Coach Amado has fulfilled his vision. What those who follow the GWC Men’s Volleyball Team have watched in the turnaround of the program, can sense Golden West College can count themselves lucky to have Coach Amado. One must beg the question, if GWC Leadership cannot find a way to make Coach Amado a paid full-time coach then perhaps another more aggressive college will sweep him away. But for now, GWC Men’s Volleyball is Champions.
