Pirates respond well with road sweep over Lasers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (,) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
Irvine Valley (,) | 22 | 23 | 18 | 0 |
IRVINE -- Apparently, the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team knows how to bounce back from a loss. After a stunning five-set setback at Grossmont, the Pirates headed to Irvine Valley College and swept past the Lasers, 25-22, 25-23, 25-18 on Friday night in an important Pacific Coast Conference matchup.
Ty Hutchins led the Pirates (11-1, 4-1 PCC) with 11 kills and three digs, while Jim Webb added nine kills, three block assists and two digs and Nick Amado chipped in seven kills, three total blocks and two digs.
The loss drops the Lasers to 7-5 overall, 3-2 in conference, a game out of first place behind OCC and Grossmont (7-4, 4-1).
In the opening set, both teams went back and forth, as evidenced by 11 ties in the opener. Finally, with the set tied at 20, the Pirates went to work and scored five of the next seven points. Hutchins led the run with a kill and a block to give Coast the early lead.
Coast trailed the Lasers 23-22 in the second set before an IVC serving error tied things up. From there, a block by Scott Metrakos and a kill by Hutchins helped give Coast a two-set lead in the match.
In the third set, a 9-9 tie was blown open by the Pirates, thanks to a 10-2 run, giving Coast a 19-11 advantage.
The Lasers chipped into the deficit and pulled to within five at 22-17 before OCC notched three of the final four points for the win.
A.J. Hammer led the Lasers with 11 kills, while Cole Murray and Davis Cannon each added eight.
The Pirates will return to the Peterson Gym on Wednesday night against San Diego Mesa, beginning at 6 p.m.
