Pirates open 2014 with strong win at Long Beach City
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (1-0) | 25 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 3 |
|
Long Beach (0-1) | 19 | 23 | 25 | 18 | 1 |
LONG BEACH -- The 2014 season is off to an impressive start for the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team, thanks to a four-set win at Long Beach City on Wednesday night.
With an solid 50-kill, 30-dig night, the Pirates topped the Vikings, 25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, at the Viking Gym.
Ty Hutchins found success throughout the Vikings' defense and notched a team-best 16 kills and five digs, while teammate Jim Webb added 14 kills and seven digs. Nick Amado added balance to the offense and contributed eight kills, while setter Brendan Duff dished out 45 assists.
For the Vikings, Daniel Starkey had 16 kills, while Alfonso Mata added 12. Setter Rupert Scott had 37 assists and a team-best seven digs in the loss.
Both teams battled back and forth in the opening set before a 4-0 mini-run by the Pirates -- courtesy of four attack errors by LBCC -- pushed their lead up to 19-14. That lead would hold up and OCC took the 1-0 lead.
In the second set, OCC broke a 21-21 tie with a kill by Hutchins and a key block by Scott Metrakos, putting the Pirates ahead 23-21. From there, both teams traded points until a Brandon Dau kill finished things, 25-23 and put the Pirates up 2-0 in the match.
LBCC came alive in the third set and grabbed a 14-6 lead and never looked back, but the Pirates would answer back in the fourth set.
Several two- and three-point runs proved to be the difference as the Pirates grabbed the early lead and remained ahead throughout the final set.
Coast will return to action on Friday at home against Santa Monica City College, beginning at 6 p.m.
