Pirates pull away with sweep over Miramar

COSTA MESA -- The second time around was much less stressful for the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team as the Pirates swept past visiting Miramar College on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.

After overcoming a 2-0 deficit to top the Jets in five grueling sets in the first round of Southern Conference play, the Pirates (16-2, 8-1) rolled to a 25-19, 25-23, 25-16 win, dropping Miramar to 10-7 overall and 4-5 in conference play.

Noah Keelin led the spread-out Pirates offense with nine kills, followed by eight kills from Jacob Surrette and six kills from Ashtonn Florentin.

Setters Jase Fukushima and Keegin Christenson combined for 33 assists, while libero Brayden LaRue notched seven digs in a solid defensive effort.

After a close 10-9 lead to kick off the opening set, OCC doubled the Jets 10-5 over the next 15 points to grab a 20-14 advantage as Surrette (three kills), Florentin and Adam Haidar (two kills each) helped spark the strong start.

Keelin closed out the set with three kills as the Pirates grabbed the early 1-0 lead in the match.

It looked like the second set was going to be easier than the first as OCC pushed out to a 20-12 advantage, forcing Miramar into its second timeout of the set. 

But, the Jets came alive late, fighting off five straight set-point opportunities for the Pirates to trim OCC lead to just a single point at 24-23.

After a brief Coast timeout, Kam Vakilian finally slammed home the set-winner and the Pirates survived the Miramar comeback with a 25-23 win.

That would be the lone threat administered by the Jets the rest of the night as OCC jumped out to a 17-7 advantage and never looked back in the third set.

The win keeps the Pirates tied atop the conference standings with Golden West, who swept past Palomar on Wednesday night, 25-14, 25-14, 25-15. Coast will play at Grossmont on Friday night (6 p.m.) before hosting Palomar on Wednesday (6 p.m.). 

If the schedule continues to go as planned, the Pirates and Rustlers will play for the top spot in the conference on Friday, April 11 at GWC (6 p.m.) in the regular-season finale.