If you have gone to a DVC sporting event this season you had a 75 percent chance of seeing a victory. Overall Viking sports are a combined 58-19, and most of the teams are continuing to gain strength and push towards the conference championships.
The soccer team is 11-1-2 and is ranked second in state behind only Santa Rosa (who they tied earlier in the season).
“Our consistency in the back has been the best,” said head coach Cailin Mullins about her defenders. “(When) playing against really good teams our strength is in our defending.” DVC is ranked first with a perfect 6-0 record within the Big 8 Conference.
“We’re winning because everyone is playing a part. We know we’re good enough to win conference, and we expect to,” Mullins said. The biggest challenge facing the soccer team is the pressure of being the favorites going into the conference championships.
The women’s water polo team is fifth in state with a record of 17-3. With only one match left until the championships, DVC has already locked up the number one seed for the tournament.
Head coach Rick Millington had similar views on his team as Mullins, saying, “We need to work on consistency (but) we have the best goalie in [Northern California.]”
The team is very fast and, with strong defensive play, should expect to do well in the playoffs. “If we don’t play well on offense, we are (always) solid on [defense],” he added.
Football is second in conference after a disappointing loss to Chabot for their first loss of the season. The team is now 6-1 with three games left in the regular season.
“We had high expectations coming into the season, and we’ve lived up to them for the most part,” Head coach Mike Darr said. He believes his team needs to be more consistent as well. He added, “We need to execute for four quarters.”
The offense is the fourth best in northern California, thanks in part to surprise offensive standout Dada Richards.
The offensive lineman has been the most consistent and best pass blocker. According to coach Darr, “He has done everything right.”
The team still has a good chance to make a bowl game. “We need to control what we can control,” he added.
Lacrosse is 5-1 and head coach Jon Skinner said, “Our team hasn’t hit on all cylinders, we haven’t come to our potential.”
The team is focusing on toughness for their final eight games, while looking to gain chemistry with each game. “(The) team needs to click, we got together pretty quickly,” he said.
The team has a lot of talent and is focusing on hustling and the little details. Skinner went on to say, “We’re going to be the toughest team on the field no matter what the scoreboard says.”
Keeping with winning teams the men’s water polo team is 13-3 and ranked third in the state. In those 16 games they have more than doubled their opponents scoring output. This includes teams in Los Angeles, and Pennsylvania.
The team is undefeated within the conference winning all four of their games. Their regular season is over and they will be the number one seed expecting to win conference. The Big 8 conference tournament is in Stockton on Nov. 4-5.
The Volleyball team is 6-10, and 2-5 within one of the best conferences in Northern California. The team is good but has a confidence issue.
“We have played teams in the pre-season and in conference that we know we are better skilled but have come up short against them,” head coach Jackie Ponciano-Babb said.
The team is very young with only three sophomores, and nine freshmen.
Sandra Foster is a freshman standout who has a good all-around game. Ponciano-Babb said, “I came into this year knowing that Sandra would be successful offensively for us.”
The team is a long shot to make a splash in the conference or state championships but Ponciano-Babb is optimistic.
“Qualifying for play-offs and possibly for the state championships have always been our goal each year. However, we know that there is a long road ahead and we’re focused on being successful one match at a time,” she said.
Having completed the regular season, the cross country teams are looking forward to the conference championships on Oct. 28 in Sacramento.
At the MJC Invitational, the men’s team placed second out of eight teams, while the women’s team placed fourth out of seven.
During the invitational, Eric Brooks placed sixth out of 66 racers, and had the best time of any man running for DVC.
Carmen Martinez led the women coming in fourth out of 50.
These runners will look to build on their success and help DVC place highly at the conference championships.
DVC sports are performing well now and might continue to the rest of the season.
With all the success these teams are having it is no wonder why they are getting all the support they are.
Fans are coming out in groves and cheering on their beloved Vikings. They have been, and should continue to see their teams win.
