Pirates win state title after topping Corsairs in five!

ORANGE -- After losing a two-set lead, then pulling out a five-set thriller for the state championship, Orange Coast College sophomore standout Ty Hutchins summed it up best following Friday night's 25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 21-25, 15-10 win over Santa Monica City College. 

"I can finally breathe now."

There were several members of the Pirate roster, coaching staff, administrators and former players in the stands at Santiago Canyon College gasping for air after watching the Pirates (20-1) drop two straight sets to the never-say-die Corsairs (14-7), setting up a dramatic fifth-and-deciding set for the California Community College Athletic Association state championship.

"Yeah, I'm sure there a little bit of doubt crept in there, but we believe in each other and we trust each other -- we always have," sophomore middle blocker Scott Metrakos said. "We knew we had one more set to win this and we gave it everything we had. I can't even describe how good this feels."

In that fifth set, Coast took whatever momentum SMCC had after winning the last two sets away as Hutchins (19 kills, six digs) notched three kills and a pair of aces to give Coast a 7-2 lead.

The Corsairs, arguably the best third-place team in recent memory, showed no fear and went on a 6-1 run to tie the set at eight. Led by the 1-2 punch of Keats Stanley (26 kills) and Taylor Tattersall (23 kills), Santa Monica gave the Pirates all they could handle in just their third five-set match of the season and just the sixth to go past three sets.

"What turned that match around for Santa Monica was Keats and Taylor," joked OCC head coach Travis Turner. "They really gave us all we could handle, but we managed to come together and get back to playing the way we know how to play. We got away from that and did things we didn't normally do in the third and fourth sets."

The turning point of the match came with the fifth set tied at 8. After a put-away by Brendan Duff gave Coast a 9-8 lead, Metrakos came up big with a pair of blocks and slowed down another kill attempt which allowed Hutchins to slam home a winner to give OCC a 12-8 advantage.

"I love Scott's mentality -- this guy never quits on the floor," Hutchins said of Metrakos. "He came up huge for us when we really needed him the most."

From there, it was back and forth before Hutchins put the championship away with a kill and a service ace, sending the Pirates to their first state men's volleyball championship since 1994.

"The guys stepped up and got it done," Turner said. "I saw the look in Jim (Webb's) eyes and I knew he was ready to go, as was everyone. I don't care if it was a one-set win, a best-of-five, or whatever ... I'd take these guys over anyone in the state -- and I'd say that if we would have lost, too."

A loss was something that wasn't even on the radar for the Pirates in the first two sets as Webb (seven kills, two aces) and Hutchins (three kills) picked apart the SMCC defense and middle blocker Nick Amado's strong play early in the first set (two blocks, two kills) helped Coast cruise to a 25-18 win.

Santa Monica regrouped and grabbed a 12-8 lead early in the second set before the Pirates began to chip away at the Corsairs' advantage. Finally, after getting within a point at 17-18, a Hutchins kill and blocks by Metrakos and Brendan Duff highlighted a 4-0 run, putting Coast ahead, 21-18.

SMCC got back to within a point at 21-20, but Coast managed to side-out the Corsairs the rest of the way, giving the Pirates a 25-23 win.

Playing with nothing to lose, the Corsairs came out and blitzed the Pirates in the third set, 25-17 and used a 6-2 run late in the fourth set to break a 19-19 tie to force set No. 5.

Webb finished with a team-best 20 kills, five aces and six digs, while setter Brendan Duff earned State Tournament MVP honors by dishing out 48 assists on Friday and 90 for the tournament. Duff, Hutchins and Webb were named to this year's All-Tournament Team from the Pirates.

"With two big weapons like that, sometimes it's hard for a setter to keep everyone happy, but he did a good job of spreading out our offense all season long," Turner said. "The credit usually goes to the big hitters, but Brendan has really been our unsung hero for us this year and he will definitely be missed next year."

While the history books will show that the state championship was won inside SCC's brand-new gymnasium, Hutchins and the rest of the Pirates know the real story. "This state championship was won in our gym all season long," Hutchins said. "We worked our butts off to get to this point and our scrimmages and practices were the best I've ever been a part of."

Webb added, "When Santa Monica tied it up, we knew we were going to need the push of our lives. We just dug deep and found enough to get things done.

"This is the best feeling in the entire world."