Pirates roll over Rustlers in three-set sweep
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Golden West | 25 | 15 | 20 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast | 27 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
COSTA MESA -- After a bit of a slow start, the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team found its groove and swept past visiting Golden West in three sets on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym.
With 12 kills by sophomore middle blocker Nick Amado and 10 kills from outside hitter Adrian Faitalia, the Pirates took care of business against the rival Rustlers and won, 27-25, 25-15, 25-20, in a Pacific Coast Conference matchup.
Kamaha'o Paio chipped in nine kills and a team-best six digs for Coast (5-3, 2-0 in PCC), while Steven Duhoux dished out 32 assists.
For the Rustlers (2-6, 0-1), Lenzie Ainsworth led the way with 12 kills, while teammate Alvin Truong added seven.
It looked like it was going to be along night as both teams battled back and forth in the opening set. Coast jumped out to a 15-10 lead on the strong serving of Amado, but the Rustlers fought back and evened the set at 20 with the strong hitting of Ainsworth.
A kill by Kyle Hurst gave Coast set point at 24-23, but GWC used a Truong kill and an ace by Taivasa Alama to take a 25-24 lead. But three straight blocks by Jack Stafford, Amado and Paio rallied the Pirates to a 27-25 win.
That momentum by Coast carried over into the second set, where the Pirates blew things open early. After seeing a 6-1 lead trimmed down to 9-5 by the Rustlers, Coast went on a 7-0 run to pull away from GWC as kills by Faitalia and several unforced errors by Golden West proved to be too much to overcome.
In the third set, GWC tied things up at 12 on a kill by Tyler Peck, but Coast returned the favor and went on a 7-2 run to grab the lead for good.
Coast will take to the road for the next three matches, beginning at Miramar College on Wednesday, beginning at 2 p.m. The Pirates' next home match will take place on Friday, March 13 against Grossmont, beginning at 6 p.m.
