Pirates fall to Rustlers in five sets

COSTA MESA -- A hard-fought effort by the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team came up just a few points short as the Pirates drop a five-set decision to visiting Golden West on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Devyn Holland had 13 kills and sophomore Sierra Lim etched her name atop the OCC record books, but it wasn't enough as the Pirates fall to GWC, 25-10, 26-28, 25-20, 12-25, 15-7, in a crucial Orange Empire Conference matchup.

Lim, who finished with 28 digs for the night, currently stands at 860 digs, breaking the school's all-time career digs record, originally held by Ashlee Moon (846 in 2005-06).

Evelyn Awai added 11 kills for OCC (15-7, 7-6 in OEC), while Aubrey St. Laurent added 10. Libero Rylee Adair notched a team-best 33 digs, while Holland also led the passing with 29 assists.

For the Rustlers (13-10, 10-4), Ashley Atsaros led the way with 17 kills, while Eden VanWaardenburg and Cherene Uale each added 11.

In the opening set, the match did not have the feeling of a five-set thriller as the Rustlers came out like gangbusters and used a 17-1 run to roll past Coast, 25-10.

GWC opened up an 11-6 lead in the second set, but OCC used an 8-1 run to regain the lead, 14-12.

Several unforced errors by OCC gave the Rustlers a 21-19 advantage before OCC ripped off five points in a row to led 24-21.

Following a GWC timeout, the Rustlers fought off five different set-point opportunities by the Pirates. But eventually, Coast would prevail thanks to a Tileree Johnson kill and a wide kill attempt by the Rustlers.

In the third set, Golden West used a 6-0 run to grab the lead midway through and never looked back, grabbing a 2-1 lead in the match.

GWC led 10-9 in the fourth set before the Pirates returned the opening-set favor to the Rustlers, using a 16-2 run to close out things out and force a fifth and deciding set.

Both teams went back and forth early, but with GWC leading 7-6, the Rustlers found the last big outburst of the night, going on an 8-1 run to close the match out.

OCC will return to action on Monday at Fullerton College (6 p.m.). The Pirates will return to the Peterson Gym on Wednesday against Santa Ana (6 p.m.).