Pirates outlast Mounties in four

COSTA MESA -- Still looking for that "A" game, the Orange Coast College women's volleyball continues to improve with a four-set win over visiting Mt. San Antonio, topping the Mounties, 26-24, 17-25, 25-17, 25-23, on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.

With the win, Coast improves to 6-1 for the season, while the loss drops the Mounties to 6-4. Coast will take to the road for three matches, beginning on Friday at Rio Hondo College, beginning at 5 p.m. OCC's next home contest will be Friday, Sept. 27 against Irvine Valley, beginning at 6 p.m.

The opening set had the host Pirates trailing throughout the early portions, but, at 12-15, Coast ripped four points in a row to grab a 16-15 advantage. Joey Payan's two kills and a service ace from Sophia Wirtzer sparked the 4-point run. 

But the Mounties countered with a 5-1 run to lead, 20-17. Coast still trailed by two at 22-20 before another crucial 4-0 run pushed the advantage back to the Pirates. Kills by Kennedy Cutler and Caprie Troccoli helped push OCC to set point. But back-to-back kills by Mt. SAC's Brianna De Jong evened the score at 24, prolonging the opening set. However, back-to-back kills by middle blockers Troccoli and Payan helped Coast survive the opener and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

It looked good early on for the Pirates in the second set as OCC ripped off five straight points to start things off. That would be about it for the happy faces on the home side as the Mounties used a 22-9 avalanche of points to grab control of things and even the match at a set apiece.

Not to be too rattled from the Mt. SAC run, Coast regrouped during the change-over and jumped out to a 10-3 lead and never looked back in the third set. Several self-inflicted errors by the Mounties and late-set kills by Payan (2) and Cutler (2) helped OCC cruise to a 25-17 win to take a 2-1 set lead in the match.

Both teams slugged it out in the fourth set, trading points early on. With the score tied at 11, a 7-2 run pushed OCC out in front, 18-13. Strong serves by Jordan Packer and key kills by Cutler helped Coast grab the mid-set advantage. Mt. SAC would answer back with a 6-2 run to trim the deficit to 20-19 and the Mounties stayed closed and trailed by a single point at 23-22.

But another pair of Mountie errors -- a wide kill attempt and a net violation -- helped give Coast the final two points it would need to pick up the win and avoid a fifth set.