Several Pirates moving on to four-year schools
COSTA MESA -- After stellar careers for Orange Coast College -- both indoor volleyball and beach volleyball -- five former Pirate standouts -- Kingsley Mason, Joceline Martinez, Cassie Smits Van Oyen, Rachel Blair and Elodie Danet -- will be continuing their athletic and academic careers at the four-year level.
KINGSLEY MASON, ST. MARTIN'S UNIVERSITY -- Mason racked up 342 kills over her two-year Pirate career and was a team leader for OCC throughout her tenure here. Mason earned first-team, All-Orange Empire Conference honors and guided the Pirates to an 18-8 overall record and a trip to the Southern California Regional Finals, where they were edged out by Irvine Valley in five sets. As a freshman, Mason racked up 154 kills and helped the Pirates return to the State Quarterfinals for the first time since 2009. St. Martin's competes in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the Division III program is located in Lacey, Washington, where they finished the 2023 season 17-11 overall, 10-8 in conference.
JOCELINE MARTINEZ, WILLIAM PENN UNIVERSITY -- After taking time away from OCC and volleyball, Martinez came back and performed well for the Pirates in 2023, leading the team with 73 blocks to go along with 123 kills. Her strong play in the middle earned Martinez a second-team, All-Orange Empire Conference selection for 2023. As a freshman for the Pirates in 2019, she was second on the team with 222 kills and 67 blocks, helping Coast to a 19-7 record and a second-round trip to the Southern California Regionals. William Penn University is a NAIA College located in Oskaloosa, Iowa, where the Statesmen finished 16-17 overall and 10-8 in the Heart of America Conference.
CASSIE SMITS VAN OYEN, VANGUARD UNIVERSITY -- After a year at Coastal Carolina University, Cassie Smits Van Oyen brought four-year-college experience and a 6-1 frame to the setter position and both traits proved well for the Pirates in 2023. There, she amassed 249 assists to go along with 33 kills, 22 aces and 13 total blocks. Smits Van Oyen will head down the road to Vanguard University, a NAIA program, where the Lions won the Golden State Athletic Conference and advanced to the NAIA Quarterfinals and finished with a 29-2 overall record.
RACHEL BLAIR, VANGUARD UNIVERSITY -- Blair will join Smits Van Oyen to Vanguard, but she will be a part of the VU Lions beach volleyball program. As a freshman, Blair helped guide the Pirates to their first-ever trip to the state finals in 2022, finishing the regular season 17-1. This past season, Blair rejoined the Pirates in 2024, where they finished 12-7, but as a duo with Mason, the No. 31-seeds picked up several SoCal Regional upset wins to earn a trip to the State Finals. The Pirate pair earned first-team, All-OEC honors in 2024. She will be joining a VU Lion program that overcame a 6-15 start to the season to win the NAIA Beach Volleyball National Championship.
ELODIE DANET, OTTAWA UNIVERSITY -- Danet had herself a solid season for the Pirate beach program, earning second-team, All-OEC honors along with her playing partner, Sophia Wirtzer. Danet will be heading to Surprise, Arizona to attend Ottawa University (OUAZ), who fell to Vanguard in the championship final of the NAIA Beach Volleyball Invitational and finished 23-10 overall.
