Pirates hang on to top Hornets in four

COSTA MESA -- After a pair of tough losses, the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team returned to the winning side of things with a four-set victory over visiting Fullerton College on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Aubrey St. Laurent had 12 kills, while Devyn Holland and Hannah Del Barto each slammed down 11 as the Pirates pulled away from the Hornets, 26-24, 17-25, 25-20, 25-11, in an Orange Empire Conference matchup.

Strong serving by libero Rylee Adair (three aces, 20 digs) and strong blocking by Alibelle Pilimai (seven blocks, sixth-most for one match in OCC history) helped the Pirates improve to 12-3 overall, 4-2 in the Orange Empire Conference.

Lauren Shafer led the Hornets (4-8, 1-5) with seven kills, while Kaylin Johnson added five.

It was a back-and-forth match early on as the Hornets held a 17-13 lead in the opening set. But thanks to the strong in-and-out serving of Adair, Coast ripped off five straight points and took an 18-17 lead. Fullerton bounced back and was just two points from taking the first set (23-22) before a kill by St. Laurent and a long return pushed the Pirates in front, 24-23. 

After a kill by Andrea Lopez tied the set at 24, Coast used a long Fullerton serve and a net return to steal the first set, 26-24.

It looked like the second set was going to be a favorable one for the Pirates as they jumped out to an 8-4 advantage, but FC went on an 11-3 run to lead 15-11 and the Hornets never lost the lead the rest of the set.

Fullerton jumped out to a 6-4 lead in the third set only to see the Pirates go on a 12-3 run to lead 16-9. Del Barto came on strong in the third set and ripped off four kills during that outburst. The Hornets got within four at 21-17 but the Pirates held on from there.

OCC scored the first eight points of the fourth set and appeared to roll past the Hornets, only to see the guests score nine of the next 12 points to trail only by two at 11-9.

But strong serves by Mackenzie Bill helped start a 5-0 run and after a wide serve, Sierra Lim served out eight straight points to blow the set wide open.

Coast will return to action on Wednesday at Santa Ana College, beginning at 5:30 p.m. OCC's next home match will take place on Friday, Oct. 27 against Riverside City College, beginning at 6 p.m.