Shorthanded Pirates fall to Lasers

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's volleyball team gave a strong effort against conference kingpin Irvine Valley, but in the end, the top-ranked Lasers were too much to handle as the Pirates fell, 25-15, 26-24, 25-18, on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Mahina Kenoi led the offense for the shorthanded Pirates (17-5, 10-4 in the Orange Empire Conference) with 10 kills and 10 digs, while Lily Johnson added nine kills, Bailey Coffin knocked down eight kills and Joceline Martinez chipped in six.

Thea Snider dished out 27 assists to go along with 12 digs, while Terri Tokita-Robins shared the Snider's digs lead with 12.

For the Lasers (20-0, 13-0) Lea Kruse and Gabriela Griego each had 11 kills, while Alaina Gendale and Kristin Austin each added six.

Coast led 9-7 in the opening set, thanks to a pair of kills by Coffin and two from Johnson before IVC went on a 15-3 run to grab control of things. Griego ripped four kills during that run and the Lasers grabbed the opening set.

Trailing 18-11 in the second set, OCC put a bit of a scare into the Lasers with an 11-4 run, turning a certain 2-0 lead in the match for IVC into a 22-22 dogfight. Back-to-back kills by Kruse gave the Lasers a pair of set-point opportunities, but a kill by Johnson and a net return by IVC evened the set at 24, forcing the Lasers into a timeout.

But Irvine Valley calmly picked up the next two points on a kill by Griego and a net return by the Pirates as the Lasers grabbed a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Lasers again jumped out early on the Pirates and led 20-14 in the third set before a mini OCC rally made things interesting. Back-to-back kills by Martinez and Coffin as well as an ace by Kenoi forced another Lasers' timeout at 20-17.

But four straight points for the Lasers out of that timeout gave the guests enough cushion to take the match just two points later.

OCC will return to action on Wednesday at home against Riverside City College, beginning at 6 p.m.