Pirates wrap up conference crown after sweeping past Lasers

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's volleyball team wrapped up the 2014 Pacific Coast Conference title following a three-set sweep over visiting Irvine Valley College on Wednesday night.

Ty Hutchins had 15 kills to lead the Pirates (17-1, 10-1), who wrap up their third conference title in four years and 16th in OCC's 31-year men's volleyball history, dating back to 1978 (Coast did not play from 1983-86).

Jim Webb slammed down 13 kills, while middle blockers Scott Metrakos (5-for-6) and Nick Amado (7-for-10) made the most of their opportunities.

Dishing out the offense was Brendan Duff, who had 39 assists.

For the Lasers (11-7, 7-4), Davis Cannon led the way with 11 kills, while Marcus Dillon added nine.

Coast grabbed hold of the lead in the opening set with a 4-0 run, giving OCC a 9-6 advantage, a lead the Pirates would not lose the rest of the way. With three kills from Hutchins and a pair of kills from Amado and Metrakos, the Pirates picked up the first set of the match.

IVC carried a lead for most of the second set as the Lasers' offense began to click and the blocking of middle blocker Kevin Vaz took its toll on the Pirates as Irvine Valley led, 22-18.

Coast regrouped and ripped off three straight points with a Braden Hall kill, a wide IVC return and an ace from Webb, forcing IVC into a timeout.

A net serve gave the Lasers a 23-21 lead, but OCC responded with three straight points to force a set point for the hosts. Kills by Hutchins and Amado and a big ace from Jack Stafford paved the way for Coast.

Two kills by Dillon fought off a pair of OCC set points, but Coast kept the pressure on and finally, back-to-back kills by Webb gave the Pirates a two-set lead in the match.

Coast jumped out to a 16-12 lead in the third set before IVC used a 5-1 run to tie the set at 17.

But the Pirates answered back with a 7-2 run of their own and never looked back.

The win sends Coast right to the State Final Four, which begins on Wednesday, April 23 at Santiago Canyon College. Before that, however, OCC will wrap up the regular season at San Diego Mesa on Friday, beginning at 6 p.m.