Pirates fight hard, but fall to Chargers in four

COSTA MESA -- It was a solid effort by the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team against powerhouse Cypress College, but in the end, the Chargers managed to leave the Peterson Gym with a four-set victory on Friday night.

Led by standout all-around player Samantha Madrid's 22 kills, the Chargers (12-1, 5-0 in Orange Empire Conference) prevailed, 23-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 against a pesky Pirate squad that refused to give up the entire night.

Breanna Gardner led the Pirates (7-7, 2-2) with 21 kills, while Hannah Del Barto notched nine kills to go with 17 digs. Enjelica Glattli notched 37 assists for Coast, while Sierra Lim tracked down a team-best 18 digs.

It looked like Cypress was going to run away with things early in the opening set as the middles went to work early and helped the Chargers jump out to a 15-10 lead.

But some self-inflicted errors by Cypress helped Coast rip off a 6-0 run and the Pirates were back into the opening set, leading 16-15.

OCC again fell behind at 21-19 before the Pirates used a pair of Gardner kills, a single kill by Del Barto and three Cypress errors to score six of the next eight points to take the opening set, 25-23.

The Pirates and Chargers were deadlocked at 13 in the second set before Madrid helped lead the way to a 10-3 run, allowing Cypress the even the match with a 25-17 win.

In the third set, Coast fought its way to a 17-13 advantage as Gardner's kills and the OCC defense kept the hosts into the match.

But back came the Chargers with a 6-2 run to even the set at 19 and after back-to-back points by the Pirates, Cypress reeled off a 6-1 run to close the set out and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Pirates maintained their poise and battled Cypress to an 18-17 led in the fourth set before a pair of kills by Madrid and Sina Amasio capped off a 5-1 run, pushing the Chargers ahead, 22-19.

Despite kills by Del Barto and Tileree Johnson which pulled Coast to within a point a 23-22, the Pirates never were able to get the equalizer and force a fifth set as a kill and block by Rockelle Gholson gave the Chargers the two-point win in the set.

Coast will return to action on Wednesday at Riverside City College, beginning at 6 p.m. OCC's next home match will take place on Friday against Saddleback, also at 6 p.m.