Pirates swept by Dons in season finale

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's volleyball team pushed a much-improved Santa Ana College squad in all three matches, but in the end, the Dons prevailed, 25-23, 29-27, 25-23, in the regular-season finale for both teams on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Hannah Del Barto had 19 kills to lead the Pirates (9-17, 4-12 in Orange Empire Conference), while Aubrey St. Laurent added eight kills. Sierra Lim anchored the defense with 17 digs, while Breanna Gardner added 15 digs and Enjelica Glattli dished out 27 assists.

For the Dons (11-11, 6-10), Viridiana Serrano led the way with 12 kills, while Mikelle Taylor added 10 and Hannah De Grasse contributed six. 

Despite SAC winning both matches against the Pirates this year, both teams were about as even as can be. In six of the eight sets played, the winning team won by the two-point minimum and the two biggest "blowout" sets were 25-21 wins for the Dons in their previous match back on Oct. 14.

Santa Ana led, 20-14 in the opening set before the Pirates mounted a comeback, let by the strong hitting of Del Barto, who notched four kills during an 8-1 run that put the Pirates in front, 22-21. 

But a block by Taylor and an errant OCC pass put the Dons back out in front, 23-22, forcing Coast into a timeout.

A long serve evened the score, but a kill by Serrano and an ace by De Grasse stunned the hosts and gave SAC a 1-0 lead in the match.

Again, Santa Ana led late (19-16), but Coast took advantage of some unforced errors by the Dons to actually hold down a pair of set-point opportunities at 25-24 and again at 26-25.

But, on those points, a Taylor block and a Taylor kill helped keep the Dons alive. In the end, another Taylor kill and a returned ball that fell to the floor gave SAC the set and a commanding lead in the match.

Unlike the first two sets, this time, Coast came out hot and jumped out to an 8-2 lead, sparked by three kills by Del Barto. 

Santa Ana chipped away, then, turned a 14-10 deficit into a 16-14 advantage thanks to six straight points. Coast regrouped and held a 19-17 lead before a 6-3 outburst by the Dons put the guests in front, 23-22. A kill by Gardner evened the set at 23 before a Serrano kill and a Taylor block ended the match for the Dons.