The West Valley men's water polo team dropped a hard-fought 12-10 first-place battle at Merced Wednesday. The Vikings (6-9, 2-1 Coast) trailed 7-4 at halftime and closed to within 9-7 at the end of the third quarter. But the Blue Devils (11-9, 3-0) and WVC traded goals in the fourth for the 12-10 final. Ben Fleming led the Vikings with four goals, while Miguel Navarro had a pair of scores and Xavier Casabella gathered in ten saves in goal. The Vikings close out the regular season with a pair of key Coast contests at the WVC Aquatics Center. WVC hosts De Anza (3-9, 1-2) Oct. 23 and Las Positas (6-16, 1-2) Oct. 30. The ball drops for both at 3:00pm.