Pirates regroup with strong win over Warriors
COSTA MESA -- After a tough four-set loss to Santa Barbara on Friday, the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team returned to the "win" column on Tuesday night with a three-set sweep over visiting El Camino, 25-21, 25-20, 25-20.
Cody Martin led the Pirates (2-1) with 17 kills and five blocks, while Johannes Brink added 11 kills and four blocks and Connor Luckey contributed 10 kills in the middle.
On defense, Scott Enos notched six digs, while setter Brendan Duff dished out 37 assists in the win.
For the Warriors (1-2), Trevor Butler led the way with 10 kills.
After a slow start yielded a 13-9 lead for the Warriors, Orange Coast turned up the intensity and went on a 10-2 run to grab the lead for good. Four different Pirate hitters -- Luckey, Brink, Martin and Ty Hutchins each had kills during that run, while Duff and Martin came up with key blocks.
In the second set, Coast again trailed early (14-12), forcing a timeout. However, the Pirates responded with four straight points and again grabbed the lead for good away from the Warriors. OCC was able to keep long rallies away from El Camino's side of the court. In fact, ECC did not earn two points in a row the rest of that second set.
In the third set, another mini-run of 6-1 put the momentum on the side of the Pirates, turning an 11-10 advantage into a comfortable 17-11 lead.
The Warriors, behind the hitting to Tucker, crept to within three at 21-18 before the Pirates closed things out.
OCC will return to action on Friday against defending state champion Long Beach City College, beginning at 6 p.m. The Pirates fell to the Vikings in four hard-fought sets in the state finals last year.
