Pirates sweep away Rustlers!

COSTA MESA -- Ty Hutchins had 17 kills and seven digs to lead the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team to a three-set sweep over rival Golden West, 25-23, 25-15, 29-27, before an energetic crowd inside the Peterson Gym.

Jim Webb added 15 kills for the Pirates (13-1, 6-1 in Pacific Coast Conference), while Scott Metrakos added six kills in the middle. Setter Brendan Duff had 45 assists and five digs, while Nick Amado notched four blocks on defense.

For the Rustlers (7-7, 3-4), Jared Chase led the offense with 12 kills, while Kevin Gorence added 10. Garrett Covey dished out 21 assists, while teammate Jarrett Neal notched 14 digs.

Things started strong for the visiting Rustlers as they jumped out to a 16-11 lead, thanks to three kills by Gorance, a pair by Berton Peyton and five service errors by the Pirates.

But Coast ripped off five straight points to tie the set at 16, before four kills by Chase helped give GWC the lead once again at 21-19.

That's when Hutchins went to work for the Pirates as he went kill-block-kill to give Coast a 22-21 lead, forcing the Rustlers to call timeout.

A block by Amado and Duff, followed by a solo block by Amado gave Coast a 24-21 lead. GWC got back to within a point, but a Hutchins kill ended the first set.

The Pirate offensive execution came strong in the second set as GWC could not get more than one point in a row. Meanwhile a series of mini-runs by Coast helped the hosts grab a comfortable lead right from the opening whistle.

Six different players earned kills for the Pirates as they jumped out to a two-set advantage.

Coast fell behind 7-2 in the third set before using an 11-4 run to take a 13-11 lead.

With the set tied at 22, kills by Braden Hall and Hutchins gave Coast a pair of match points, but the Rustlers responded with three straight points to lead, 25-24.

Webb put away back-to-back kills to fight off a pair of set points for GWC and Hutchins kept Coast in the set with a kill of his own to tie the set at 27.

Finally, a pair of errant returns by the Rustlers gave the Pirates the third set and the match.

OCC returns to action on Wednesday at San Diego City College (6 p.m.). The Pirates return to the Peterson Gym on Friday, April 4 against Grossmont, also at 6 p.m. The Griffins, who are one-half game behind OCC in the conference standings, handed Coast its lone loss of the season back on March 12 with a five-set defeat at Grossmont College.