Pirate volleyball pair headed to Westcliff University
COSTA MESA – A pair of Orange Coast College women's volleyball standouts – libero Rylee Adair and setter Camryn Kaina – will be heading down the road to Westcliff University to continue the athletic and academic careers, according to OCC head coach Chuck Cutenese.
Adair etched her name throughout the Pirate women's volleyball record books during her two-year career. After a solid 501-dig campaign as a freshman in 2017, Adair bettered her numbers as a sophomore with 563 digs (third-most in one season in school history). She became the first OCC player to surpass 1,000 digs in a career and finished up with 1,063, shattering the previous record of 917, set by Sierra Lim in 2016-17.
"I'm really excited to continue to play indoor and beach at Westcliff," Adair said. "They have had some OCC players in the past and they've said how nice it is there and Camryn and I are both majoring in business and they're business program is exactly what we are looking for."
Adair also set the single-match digs record in her final match of her OCC career when she notched 45 against Ventura in the opening round of the Southern California Regional playoffs. Adair's strong defensive play earned her first-team, All-Orange Empire Conference honors after leading the OEC in digs last year. She was a second-team, All-OEC selection as a freshman in 2017.
On the beach, Adair also helped raise the bar. Her 24 victories this year are the most all time in school history, topping Jadelyn Forgiarini's total of 23 last year.
"Playing at OCC was definitely the best experience I've had in my life," Adair said. "I've made amazing relationships with my teammates and my coaches and I've really learned about how to really compete and become a leader on my team. We've had great leaders here and I wanted to learn from all of them so hopefully I can take what I've learned here and be an even better player at Westcliff."
Kaina, who came to OCC after spending one season at Westmont College, became the Pirates' go-to setter from the opening match and dished out 746 assists to go along with 57 kills, 20 aces and 221 digs, earning second-team, All-OEC honors.
"I came here on a visit during Spring Break last year and I got to meet the coaches and see the campus and I really liked it so I came to OCC," Kaina said. "Overall, it was a pretty good year, volleyball wise and coming to OCC helped give me more confidence and I've learned to play with more heart and leave everything out on the court each match."
Kaina's 746 assists are just off of the school's single-season top-10 list, as was her single-match high of 54 assists, turned in against Fullerton College on Sept. 28, 2018. Twelve times Kaina dished out 30-or-more assists and included in that was a five-match conference streak where she had 40-or-more assists.
On the beach this year, Kaina and Adair earned First-Team, All-OEC honors after helping the Pirates earn a share of the Western Division title with Cypress College.
After playing together on the same club team in Hawaii as well as playing against each other in neighboring high schools, Kaina and Adair helped OCC to a 21-6 indoor record in 2018, including 14 three-set sweeps and No. 8 seeding in the Southern California Regional playoffs. On the beach, Coast finished 10-7 overall and 8-2 in the OEC Western Division.
"We've known each other since middle school and we've been friends ever since our club volleyball days," Adair said. "Our families have always kept in touch and even here at OCC, we've been roommates, so there's definitely a bond between us. We are excited to continue that friendship at Westcliff and beyond."
