Pirates continue to produce four-year caliber players
COSTA MESA -- The relentless machine that is the Orange Coast College men's volleyball program continues to generate top-caliber athletes for the four-year level and this past season, the state-champion Pirates will be sending several of their players to four-year universities to continue their athletic and academic careers.
Leading the way is last year's captain and freshman setter, Josh Friedman, who caught the eye of the two-time NCAA Division I national champions -- the University of Hawaii -- and will play for the Rainbow Warriors next season. Friedman, who shared setting duties with teammate Grayson Kling, paced the OCC offense with 412 assists, 76 digs and was the floor leader on a team that finished the regular season 20-1 and champions of the CCCAA. Friedman's season-high in assists came in the fifth match of the season when he dished out 52 assists in a four-set victory at El Camino College on Feb. 11.
A big chunk of Friedman's assists came courtesy of sophomore outside hitter/opposite Will Anderson, who wrapped up an incredible OCC career and will move onto Vanguard University in the fall, where he will be guided by former OCC Pirate athlete and current Lions' head coach, Brad Rostratter. Anderson, OCC's lone true sophomore on the 2022 state champs, racked up 250 kills and 40 aces ... both tops in all of California community colleges. His 40 aces are tied for second-most for one season in OCC history and his 68 aces are No. 2 on OCC's all-time list. Anderson earned Orange Empire Conference MVP honors and was also named MVP of the 2022 CCCAA Men's Volleyball State Tournament after leading Coast to three straight three-set sweeps over Moorpark (25-13, 25-17, 25-19), Irvine Valley (25-22, 25-20, 25-15) and Long Beach City (25-22, 25-21, 25-22). During Anderson's time with the Pirates, Coast notched a win-loss record of 49-6.
A pair of Pirates -- Sam Warren and Zach Weston -- will be taking their volleyball talents south and will attend UC San Diego in the fall. Weston was the offensive and defensive anchor up front and in the middle for the Pirates, notching 90 digs and a team-best 51 total blocks (ninth-best in the state). Warren was a solid all-around player for the Pirates on the outside with 113 kills, 12 aces, 49 digs and 28 total blocks. This future UCSD duo helped carry on the tradition of an OCC program that has lost only one OEC match over the past six seasons to go along with six regular-season OEC titles in six years.
Last but not least, congratulations to backup setter, Nathan Campbell, who will be moving on from OCC and will attend UC Merced in the fall. Stuck behind a stockpile of Pirate standouts, Campbell was a role player for OCC's championship run and helped OCC win 24-of-25 sets played in OEC competition.
