Pirates punch ticket to State Championship match by sweeping past Lasers
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Irvine Valley (17-5) | 22 | 20 | 15 | 0 |
|
Orange Coast (19-1) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
NORWALK -- The Orange Coast College men's volleyball team finally pulled the thorn out from its side on Thursday night by eliminating Orange Empire Conference rival Irvine Valley in three sets in the semifinals of the California Community College Athletic Association Men's Volleyball State Championships, hosted by El Camino College.
After back-to-back postseason losses at the hands of the Lasers -- in the 2019 state semifinals and 2021 Orange Empire Conference Championships -- the second-seeded Pirates (19-1) made quick work in dispatching the No. 3 Lasers (17-5), 25-22, 25-20, 25-15 to earn their 18 trip to the state title match. Coast will be in search of its eighth state title and first since 2017 on Saturday night against No. 1 seed, Long Beach City College, who defeated No. 4 El Camino in four sets following the Pirates' victory.
OCC biggest scare came in the opening set when IVC used its enthusiasm and early energy to grab a 7-2 lead. The lead grew to 12-6 before the Pirates regrouped and began playing OCC volleyball. With strong hitting from sluggers Will Anderson (10 kills) and Cash Adamsen (nine kills), Coast began chipping away at the deficit. Thanks to a 4-0 run, OCC made it 12-10. Then, at 16-14, an 8-1 run put the Pirates in front for good.
Five kills from Adamsen and three more from Zach Weston helped push the Pirates to a 1-0 lead in the match.
From there, it was all OCC as the Pirates never trailed the rest of the match.
Weston and Sam Warren finished with six kills each with Weston hitting at a .667 clip with no errors. Josh Friedman dished out 18 assists, while Grayson Kling added 12. Tyler Vedder came through with nine digs, while Anderson added seven. As a group, Coast controlled things up front with 11 total blocks, while the Lasers had only six.
