Pirates sweep past ECC, LBCC to kick off 2024 season

COSTA MESA -- The 2024 John Altobelli Memorial Quad was another success story for the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team as they swept through El Camino and Long Beach on Saturday inside the Peterson Gym to kick off the new season for the two-time defending state champs.

Coast cruised to victory in the opener against El Camino, dispatching the Warriors, 25-13, 25-16, 25-22. Owen Shaff led the way with seven kills, while Jacob Surette, Cooper Morse and Grant Hall each added four. Setters Jase Fukushima and Nathan Diaz combined for 31 assists, while David Polster had a strong serving night with a team-best four aces.

In the nightcap, it was more of the same as the Pirates needed just three sets to knock off Long Beach, 25-21, 25-22, 25-12 in a rematch of the state finals for the past two seasons.

Cole Hauser and Myles Henderson each had 11 kills for Coast, while Kam Vakilian added 10. Landon Seymour dished out 27 assists, while Travis Kelso anchored the front with a team-best four blocks. Henderson also led the defensive charge with six digs, while Jacob Bayston came up with four.

Coast trailed the Vikings early on and was still on the wrong end of a 17-16 score before a 5-1 outburst put Coast ahead for good. Both teams traded blows from there and with Coast in front 23-21, back-to-back kills from Henderson and Vakilian helped the Pirates take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Momentum stayed with the Pirates in the second set as the hosts jumped out to a 14-7 lead. Hauser had three big kills during that span, while the rest of the offense was spread out through numerous OCC sluggers.

Long Beach regrouped and scored five points in a row to trim the deficit down to 14-12, but the Vikings would not get any closer than that the rest of the way as the all-around play of the Pirates kept LBCC from mounting any more multi-point rallies. Finally, at 24-22, a kill from freshman Chance Cox pushed the Pirates to a two-set advantage.

The third set saw the Pirates find another gear and pull away from the Vikings early on. Trailing 3-1, Coast went on a 15-5 run and never looked back. Three kills from Hauser, three from Vakilian and several LBCC errors made things drama-free for the Pirates in the final set.

Coast will now hit the road for three in a row, starting with a big matchup at San Diego Mesa on Wednesday, beginning at 1 p.m. OCC's next home match will be against that same Mesa squad on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m.