Pirates topple Delta, 16-9; will take on Santa Barbara for state title!

CHULA VISTA -- The Orange Coast College women's water polo team is just one win away from the top of the mountain as the Pirates defeated San Joaquin Delta, 16-9, on Friday at the California Community College Athletics Association Women's Water Polo State Championships on Friday at Southwestern College.

Destiny Hernandez had six goals, an assist, two steals and three blocks for the top-seeded Pirates (28-4), while Jillian Duwe added three goals, two assists, two steals and one block. Natalia Standard joined Duwe with three goals, while single tallies were turned in by Diana Hernandez, Faith Cuevas, Ella Wisdom and Ana Nardelli.

In goal, Annabelle Sherman notched 19 saves and added two steals of her own.

With the win, OCC will take on fellow SoCal qualifier Santa Barbara City College on Saturday at 12 p.m. at SWC for the state title. Coast's last (and only) state crown came in 2001. It's the first return trip to the state finals for the Pirates since 2005.

"The key for today was playing our game to the best of our abilities," OCC head coach Dan Matulis said. "Delta had a good gameplan and played well early in the game. I felt that we had an advantage in our counter attack game and we knew that as the game went on we would have opportunities open up in the second half. The key was staying calm and trusting ourselves to make plays."

The opening quarter saw both teams battle it out back and forth and thanks to goals by Cuevas and Duwe, the Pirates and Mustangs were tied at 2.

Coast trailed 4-3 midway through the second quarter before turning the entire match around in favor of the Pirates. Coast scored the next SIX goals over a nine-minute span of the match and with 3:32 left in the third, OCC carried a 9-4 advantage on the Mustangs (21-12). Four goals by Hernandez helped spark the Pirate run and Delta was never able to get back into the contest.

"I believe the key to our victory today was staying united and overcoming the battle thrown at us," Sherman said. "I think our drive and desire was through the sky during the second half and we were able to take off leading us to our victory."

Delta did its best to stay with the Pirates, but with every punch thrown by the Mustangs, the Pirates would respond with their own, keeping SJD at an arm's distance the rest of the way.

"The key to victory today was simply just not giving up and trusting each other every minute of the game," Hernandez said. "We didn't get too hard on ourselves after a missed possession ... we were all there for each other and put it away in the next one. We communicated well on defense which was another big key to our success."

OCC and SBCC have played twice so far this season, with both teams picking up wins. The Vaqueros topped OCC, 12-10 back on Sept. 16 and more recently, Coast topped SBCC to win the Southern California Regional title this past Saturday, 10-9.

"Tomorrow's game is going to be filled with amazing energy and our girls know how to get the job done," Sherman said. "I think the key for tomorrow is to be sharp on communication and to simply play like the amazing athletes we have been training towards."

Added Hernandez ... "Also, the game isn't over until the final buzzer goes off!"