Pirates start strong, but Hornets rally to win in five

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's volleyball team came within one point of a three-set sweep, but the visiting Fullerton College Hornets rallied and pulled out a grueling five-set win over the Pirates on Friday night in side a sweltering Peterson Gym.

After opening things with wins in the opening two sets (29-27, 25-17), the Pirates held a 24-22 lead in the third set, only to watch the Hornets respond with a 28-26 win to stay alive. They followed that up with wins over the final two sets (25-17, 15-13) to complete the improbable comeback.

The Pirates (9-3, 1-2 in Orange Empire Conference) were led by the inspired play of sophomore outside hitter Danyelle Brown, who had 21 kills and 35 digs (eighth-most in one match in school history). Kerrigan Hecht added 13 kills, while Katie Duhoux added 10. Alisa Ricciardi came up with 29 digs for Coast, while teammate Measha Lindstrand provided 45 assists.

For the Hornets (7-5, 2-1), Grace Lopez led the offense with 23 kills, while Alex Winfield added 13. Mikki Sale anchored the FC defense with 17 digs, while setter Carly Bergen dished out 38 assists.

After surviving a late scare by the Hornets in the opening set, OCC played one of their best sets of the season and rolled to a 25-17 win, with the trio of Brown, Kecht and Duhoux leading the offense.

In the third set, with Coast up 24-22, a pair of Lopez kills sandwiched a four-hit violation by the Pirates, putting the Hornets up 25-24. Following a Coast timeout, a Hecht kill and a wide FC return put Coast again within a point of victory at 26-25. But, kills by Kaylyn Johnson and Lopez and a team block by the Hornets gave the guests new life with a 28-26 win.

Fullerton carried that momentum into the fourth set and blasted out to a 22-12 lead before finally evening the match at a set apiece.

Coast led early in the 15-point fifth set, 6-5, before Fullerton scored four in a row to grab a 9-6 lead, forcing the Pirates in to another timeout.

The Pirates responded with back-to-back points and after both teams traded blows, Coast again used a two-point run to even the fifth set at 12, sending the Hornets into a timeout.

But Fullerton ended the match with a 3-1 run and ended the match with a block by Shawnee Longmeyer.

Coast will play at Santa Ana on Wednesday (7 p.m.) before returning to the Peterson Gym to host Golden West on Friday (6 p.m.).