Pirates host Miramar in SoCal Regional opener

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's volleyball team will begin its postseason on Friday as the Pirates host Miramar College in the opening round of the Southern California Regional playoffs inside the Peterson Gym, beginning at 6 p.m.

The defending state champion Pirates (15-3), co-champions of the Orange Empire Conference and the No. 3 seed in this year's regional, will take on the sixth-seeded and Pacific Coast Champion Jets (12-4). The winner of Friday's match will advance to the State Final Four and will take on the winner between No. 2 Irvine Valley (16-2) and Moorpark (12-6) on Thursday, April 27 at El Camino College. In the other opening-round regional matchups, No. 1 Long Beach City (17-1) will take on No. 8 Santa Monica (10-9), while No. 4 San Diego Mesa (17-5) hosts No. 5 Santa Barbara (11-6).

After a pair of early losses to LBCC, the Pirates have been on a steady run of victories, ripping off wins in 12 of their last 13 contests. In OCC's 15 wins, 13 have come by way of three-game sweeps and with the Pirates' deep roster, late-season fatigue should not be a factor whatsoever. 

Sophomore outside hitter Sebastian Lara has been a steady force for the Pirate offense, blasting a team-best 189 kills to go along with a team-best 28 aces, 52 digs and 23 total blocks. Nine times this year, Lara has surpassed double digits in kills, including a season-best 22 against San Diego Mesa back on Feb. 24. 

Freshman slugger Myles Henderson has ripped 94 kills for the Pirates, while fellow freshmen Cole Hauser (76 kills), Trent Douphner (69) and Niall Finnegan (63) are all considered threats for head coach Travis Turner's offensive gameplan. 

The depth of the OCC lineup has the Pirate stats spread out throughout the roster, with 14 players playing in at least half of all sets this year. 

Freshman setter Landon Seymour has dished out a team-best 446 assists, while freshman libero Hide Nakamura has anchored the defense with 127 digs.

For the visiting Jets, three sophomores lead the team's offense, including Jack LeDuff (137 kills), Garrett Garcia (135) and Parker Brown (109). Libero Joshua Valencia leads the Miramar defense with 78 digs, while LeDuff is close behind with 70. 

The Jets and Pirates played once during the regular season back on March 3, with the Pirates prevailing in three sets, 25-18, 25-14, 25-17. In that match, Lara led the way with 11 kills, while Finnegan added nine. Seymour dished out 31 assists, while Nakamura came through with a match-high 11 digs. 

For Miramar in that match, Noah Lim had eight kills with no errors, while LeDuff and Garrett Garcia each had four kills.