Pirates face Lasers in state semifinals

COSTA MESA -- A pair of longtime rivals will meet once again as the Orange Coast College Pirates take on the Irvine Valley College Lasers in the California Community College Athletic Association men's volleyball state semifinals on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Santiago Canyon College.

The Pirates (18-1, 11-1) earned a straight shot to the State Final Four after winning the Pacific Coast Conference title, their third PCC crown over the past four seasons. The Final Four is the seventh such trip over the past eight seasons under head coach Travis Turner. Despite the recent trend of success, Coast is still looking for its first state men's volleyball championship since 1994 and sixth state title overall (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1994).

Leading the offensive charge for OCC has been freshman opposite Jim Webb and sophomore outside hitter Ty Hutchins. Webb led the PCC with 232 kills and also added 68 digs and 40 blocks (seven solo) to his impressive resume.

Hutchins was behind Webb with 218 kills and he posted 75 digs, 21 aces and 22 blocks (11 solo). His leadership and strong all-around play helped earn the Gilbert, AZ native the PCC Most Valuable Player award.

Webb, along with freshman middle blocker Nick Amado (138 kills, 21 digs and a team-best 60 blocks (11 solo) earned first-team, All-PCC honors, while sophomore setter Brendan Duff (609 assists -- third-best in the state and tops in the PCC) earned second-team honors.

Coast led the state by a wide margin with a .346 hitting percentage, a big key to the team's success in 2014.

The Pirates have swept the Lasers in both previous meetings this year, winning 25-22, 25-23, 25-18 at IVC on March 14 and 25-19, 27-25, 25-21 on April 9 at OCC.

The Lasers (13-7, 8-4) finished third in the PCC and advanced to the State Final Four after defeating Long Beach City College in a five-set thriller at LBCC, 25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-12. Davis Cannon led the Lasers with 24 kills and seven digs, while Cole Murray added 14 kills and A.J. Hammer chipped in 10 kills. 

Cannon leads the Lasers with 182 hills, while Murray (160) and Hammer (154) are close behind. 

The winner Wednesday night's matchup will take on the winner of the other Wednesday night semifinal between Santa Monica (13-6) and El Camino (15-4) on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Santiago Canyon College.