Pirates grab conference control with four-set win over Bobcats

COSTA MESA -- The lone possession of the Orange Empire Conference title is one win away for the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team as the Pirates pulled out a huge, four-set win over visiting Saddleback College, topping the Bobcats, 23-25, 25-12, 25-16, 25-19 on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym.

With the win, the Pirates (22-2 overall, 14-1 in the OEC) now own a one-game lead on the second-place Bobcats (17-5, 13-2) with one match remaining on Tuesday at home against Fullerton (2-19, 0-15). A win over the Hornets will wrap up OCC's first conference title since sharing the crown with Cypress back in the Pirates' 2009 state championship season.

Nika Safavi led the Pirates with 20 kills, while Kennedy Cutler added 10, with Caprie Troccoli knocking down seven. 

After a rough first encounter at Saddleback College for the Bobcats (a 25-15, 25-11, 25-22 sweep for the Pirates on Oct. 16), the OEC co-leaders wanted to make a strong opening statement on Friday and they did just that, turning around a 22-21 deficit with a 25-23 win. Meg Gardner closed out the opening set with four kills and a block over their final six points.

That momentum didn't last long for the guests, as the Pirates quickly regrouped in the second set and pulled out to an 18-8 advantage as several Bobcat errors proved too much to overcome. 

In the third set, Coast was leading 12-11 before an 11-3 run for the Pirates gave the hosts some breathing room to finish things out, taking a crucial 2-1 advantage in the match.

It was back and forth in the fourth set with the Pirates clinging to a 19-18 advantage. But from there, a pair of kills by Safavi and a pair of blocks by Abigail Brown keyed a crucial 4-0 run to put Coast up for good. A pair of additional kills by Safavi closed things out.

Coast will wrap up the regular season and will honor its sophomores on Tuesday, beginning at 6 p.m.