Pirates wrap up regular season with sweep over Hawks
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Santiago Canyon (2-14, 0-8) | 19 | 13 | 18 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast (18-1, 8-0) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
COSTA MESA -- In the final tune-up of the regular season, the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team took care of business en route to a 25-19, 25-13, 25-18 Orange Empire Conference win over visiting Santiago Canyon on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym.
Plenty of Pirates (18-1, 8-0) saw plenty of action as head coach Travis Turner used nearly his entire arsenal against the Hawks (2-14, 0-8).
Chris Guithues had a solid night in the middle, notching a team-best nine blocks to go along with six kills on just 10 attempts.
Fellow middle blocker Chris Orem notched nine kills on 11 chances, while the setting tandem of Colby Elder and Jacob Gilliam combined for 42 assists.
Defensively, libero Cole Aidnik notched a team-best 11 digs.
With the win, the state's top ranked team -- OCC -- ripped through Orange Empire Conference play with a perfect 8-0 mark. The Pirates lost just four sets throughout conference play and was pushed to a fifth set just once, against Fullerton College on April 7.
The tandem of Jordan Hoppe (200 kills in conference) and Justin Kam (199) are 2-3 in the OEC in kills, while Kam's .362 hitting percentage is second-best in conference play.
Elder and Gilliam (both in the top-five individually in conference assists) have a combined 653 helpers between them and Hoppe's 110 conference digs ranks third among all defenders.
Coast will host the opening round of the Southern California Regional playoffs on Friday at home, beginning at 7 p.m.
