Pirates find next gear, top Hornets in four

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's volleyball took on a spirited Fullerton Hornets squad on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym, but in the end, the Pirates took the wind out of the Hornets' sails with a four-set victory.

Noah Keelin had 18 kills, while Andrew Kargas knocked down 13 to lead the 3-time defending state champs to a 22-25, 25-21, 25-12, 25-14 win to improve the Pirates to 3-0 for the season.

Jacob Surrette added 11 kills and six block assists, while Kam Vakilian added eight kills. The setting duo of Jase Fukushima and Korbin Francisco combined for 43 assists, while Francisco coming through with a team-best five aces.

Fullerton -- winners of three in a row heading into Friday's matchup -- came in with a ton of confidence and came out swinging on the Pirates early on. With the opening set tied at 13, a 7-2 run pushed the Hornets up, 20-15. The Pirates tried to get back to all square in the set, and used a 6-2 run to pull to within a point at 22-21, but Shon Schugk came through with three crucial kills down the stretch, including the set-winner, to give the Hornets the opening set.

Coast regrouped and upped the intensity and found some help in the serving department, which failed them in the opening set. Coast used a 10-4 run early on to grab a 13-7 advantage and went back and forth with the Hornets the rest of the way to even the match at a set apiece.

That win gave the Pirates all the momentum they would need the rest of the way. After falling behind early in the third set, 6-3, Francisco's strong serves helped pave the way for 10 straight OCC points as the Pirates pulled out in front, 13-6. In addition to Francisco's serves, a pair of solo blocks from Adam Haidar and a pair of Keelin kills highlighted that 10-0 run and from there, OCC never looked back.

It was more of the same in the fourth set as an 8-6 OCC advantage turned into a comfortable 16-7 lead with an 8-1 run on kills from Kargas, Surette and Kargas. Finally, on match point, Keelin slammed home the match-winner, handing the Hornets their first loss of the season.

Coast will return to action on Tuesday at home against Long Beach City College, beginning at 6 p.m.