Women's Volleyball: Pirates send six to next level
COSTA MESA -- Following successful seasons, six members of the Orange Coast College indoor and beach volleyball programs will be taking their talents to four-year schools for the 2022-23 school year, according to head coach, Chuck Cutenese.
From OCC's indoor program, Sara Enright (Southern Connecticut), Faith Jones (Hope International), Rachel Street (Hope International) and Emily Payne (verbal commitment to Cal Poly Pomona) have garnered attention at the four-year level.
Enright, a graduate of Yorba Linda High School, competed for OCC in the 2021 season and made an immediate impact on the Pirate program with 222 kills and 276 digs, both second-most on the team. Her 32 aces led the Pirates and her strong play earned her first-team, All-Orange Empire Conference honors as she helped lead Coast to a 20-6 overall record and trip to Round 2 of the Southern California Regional playoffs.
Jones, a 6-0 opposite from Long Beach Millikan HS, played in all 26 matches for the Pirates and ripped 166 kills, 75 digs and was third on the OCC squad with 42 total blocks.
Street, a 5'10 outside hitter from Los Alamitos HS played in 22 matches and was a steady reserve player with 61 kills, 11 aces, 37 digs and 34 blocks. Her talents will allow Street to compete for both the HIU indoor program as well as the beach volleyball program, where last spring, she helped the Pirates win the Orange Empire Conference title and the school's first-ever berth to the CCCAA State Final Four.
Payne earned second-team, All-OEC honors in the fall after racking up 549 digs, tops among all OEC liberos.
For the Pirate beach program, joining Street at the four-year level will be Lexy Mendoza (Westcliff University) and Alanna Shields (Cal State Bakersfield).
Mendoza, along with OCC teammate Paige Cutwright, were one of the top beach pairs in the region and that duo helped push OCC into the Final Four with a dramatic 21-13, 8-21, 15-11 win in the Southern California Regionals against Santa Barbara City College.
Shields has been a key figure in OCC's climb atop the Orange Empire Conference in beach volleyball for the past two seasons. In 2021, Shields and her playing partner, Sara Enright completed a 7-1 shortened season (COVID) and advanced all the way to the OEC Pairs Championship match, where they fell to Pirate teammates Thea Snider and Summer Hanks.
"My time at OCC has been great," Shields said. "I love my teammates and my coaches. Last year was really hard on me mentally, and my teammates here and OCC really helped me to push through and get to where I am this year and I couldn't be more thankful for that. I've learned here at my time at Coast is that being a great leader or coach doesn't mean you have to be cold-hearted or mean or demeaning, and that you can be a great leader by showing kindness, strength, and wisdom to others."
In her second season with Coast, Shields and Pirate teammate Sophia Sola helped OCC to a 17-1 overall record, setting a new standard for the Pirate beach volleyball program for years to come.
