Pirates come out swinging, drop Lasers in four

COSTA MESA -- Playing their most aggressive match of the season, the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team took control of things early and toppled 8th-ranked Irvine Valley in four sets on Wednesday before an energetic "Sophomore Night" crowd inside the Peterson Gym.

Led by a 21-kill effort from Lulu Utterback, the 21st-ranked Pirates put the CCCAA volleyball world on notice that the Pirates (15-7, 9-5 in the Orange Empire Conference) are going to be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time as they toppled the Lasers, 25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 25-14. 

Kingsley Mason -- one of five Pirate sophomores playing their last regular season match inside the Peterson Gym -- finished with 12 kills and five total blocks, while fellow sophomore added nine kills and three blocks. Jordan Packer and Cassie Smits Van Oyen combined for 50 assists as the offense found its way to all of the right people. 

The tone of the match was set with the left hand of Packer on OCC's opening serves. The freshman ripped three aces during a six-point stretch, putting the Pirates in front, 6-1. Utterback and Mason came up with big solo blocks during that run, forcing the Lasers (17-4, 11-3) into an early timeout. 

The lead continued to grow for OCC as the Pirates controlled things with a 12-5 advantage. The Lasers refused to roll over and pulled to within two at 14-12 before a pair of Packer aces sparked a 5-1 run to push Coast back out to a more comfortable 19-13 cushion. IVC crept back into things and got to within three at 24-21, but with just one more point needed, an Utterback kill would be the answer as Coast took the opening set.

Coast trailed 6-4 early in the second set before a pair of Martinez kills helped spark a 5-0 mini-run that put OCC in front, 9-6. Both teams traded points, but some two-point outbursts by the Pirates helped grow the lead up to seven at 21-14. After a 2-0 spurt by the Lasers, Coast would pull away with four of the final five points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The aggressive play continued into the third set and things looked bleak for the Lasers as a 9-0 run broke a 10-10 tie and gave Coast a comfortable 19-10 advantage. Just six points away from a dominant sweep and with IVC out of timeouts, it appeared to be a quick night for all in the gymnasium. 

But the Lasers found some momentum and outscored the Pirates 15-4 down the stretch to pull out a 25-23 win, sucking the life out of the Pirate fans and giving all of the mojo to the side of Irvine Valley.

However, a three-minute between-set break was all the Pirates would need to regroup and they once again, came out swinging, using kills from five different players to spark a 9-4 opening-set run.

IVC used a 7-4 rally to get to within two at 13-11 before Mason and the Pirates pulled away for good. The sophomore opposite ripped three of her kills during a 6-0 run and just like that, Coast was up 19-11. Not leaving any chance for another improbable IVC comeback, the Pirates kept their foot on the gas pedal the rest of the way and notched five straight kills for their final five points, including the final two from Utterback to seal the deal.

OCC's final two matches of the regular season will be on the road, beginning with Fullerton College on Friday at 6 p.m.