Faitalia, Grasso pace Pirates past IVC, S.D. Mesa

IRVINE -- It's never easy to play a men's volleyball match at Irvine Valley College, but on Friday, the Orange Coast College Pirates made it look that way, sweeping past the host Lasers, 25-18, 25-20, 25-19, in a Pacific Coast Conference matchup.

Once again, the Pirates (15-2, 8-1 in PCC) went to their 1-2 punch of hitters Adrian Faitalia and Gianluca Grasso and the OCC duo each ripped nine kills and notched five digs. 

There was plenty of offense go to around for Coast. Jordan Hoppe added six kills, Matthew Ujkic slammed down five kills and Wyatt Henson and Will Donald each notched four kills. 

Setter Jake Adams dished out 22 assists and came up with a team-best 10 digs, while Ujkic and Henson clogged up the middle with nine combined total blocks.

Garret Costello and Ruben Lopez each had eight kills for the Lasers (7-7, 4-4), who managed to hit just .085 throughout the match. In all, IVC had 22 hitting errors, while the Pirates kept their mistakes in check and managed a .346 hitting percentage on just 11 hitting errors.

The Pirates continued their fine play on Wednesday night, overcoming a slow start before knocking off San Diego Mesa College, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-23.

That win sets up a HUGE matchup on Friday night as the Pirates host rival Golden West, beginning at 6 p.m. This is the third and final meeting of the year between these two volleyball kingpins. OCC swept past the Rustlers early in the season before GWC topped the Pirates in a five-set thriller in Huntington Beach. 

Heading into Friday's showdown, the Rustlers are atop the conference standings at 8-0 (14-2 overall), with the Pirates close behind at 8-1 (15-2 overall). 

In addition to the big rivalry matchup, OCC will honor a longtime friend of the program, John Ursini, in-between sets on Friday night. Ursini is the owner of the Newport Rib Company and a longtime supporter of Orange Coast College athletics, as well as several other Costa Mesa athletic programs throughout the area.