Pirates grind out three-set sweep over El Camino

COSTA MESA -- Adrian Faitalia delivered 13 kills and seven digs to lead the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team to a straight-set win over visiting El Camino College on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Gianluca Grasso added 11 kills and six digs, while Matthew Ujkic chipped in seven kills as the Pirates (4-0) topped the Warriors, 25-21, 25-22, 26-24, in a nonconference matchup.

Setters Andrew McCall and Sean Keyes each dished out 14 assists, while libero Max Gamboa came up with five digs.

For the Warriors (1-1), Chris Phanngam led the offense with seven kills. Pedro Campos and Nehemiah Iosia each added six kills, while P.J. Tulikihihifo chipped in five.

Despite the three-set sweep, the match did not come easy by any means to the Pirates, who trailed past the mid-point in all three matches against a talented Warriors' squad.

In the opener, Coast fell behind 17-13, but following a Coast timeout, the Pirates ripped off seven of the next eight points to grab a 20-18 advantage. Faitalia had three big kills during that run, forcing the Warriors into a timeout of their own.

Both teams traded blows to make it 22-21, Pirates, before Coast ripped off three straight points to close out the opening set, capped off by a nice block by Will Donald.

Coast jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the second set before ECC went on a 15-8 run to grab a 19-17 advantage. But back-to-back-to-back kills by Ujkic, Grasso and Donald and a Donald block pushed the Pirates back out in front, 21-19. From there, Coast held the Warriors to three points the rest of the set.

Strong third-set play by Tulikihihifo (four kills, two blocks) helped give El Camino a 21-17 lead late in the third set and a set point at 24-23 before Coast answered back with three straight points to close things out.

A Grasso kill tied the set at 24, a service winner by Wyatt Sutterfield put OCC ahead and a block by Will Donald iced the match, giving Coast its fourth win in a row to start the season.

Coast has 10 days off from competition before hosting three teams in an OCC quad matchup on Saturday, Feb. 20. 

The schedule for the quad is as follows ... 

• 10:30 a.m. -- Irvine Valley vs. Long Beach City
• 1 p.m. -- Santa Monica vs. Orange Coast
• 4:30 p.m. -- Irvine Valley vs. Santa Monica
• 7 p.m. -- Long Beach vs. Orange Coast