Orange Coast College

Women's Volleyball: Pirates pass early test, top Fullerton

Friday, October 05, 2007

COSTA MESA - Midterms may still be a couple of months away in the classroom, but on the volleyball court, Orange Coast passed its first major test of the season, topping rival Fullerton in four games on Friday night in a battle of the state's top two teams.

Led by a 26-kill, 15-dig performance from sophomore outside hitter Jacqi Reed, the top-ranked Pirates posted a 23-30, 30-27, 33-31, 30-22 Orange Empire Conference win over the No. 2 Hornets.

"This was definitely our biggest test so far this year and it was nice to see our team rebound from a slow start to the match," OCC head coach Chuck Cutenese said. "As the match wore on, our hitting got better and we were doing a better job of hitting into our service areas."

OCC (9-1, 3-0 in conference) came out ragged against a very aggressive Fullerton (9-2, 2-1) squad. With strong play from Hornet hitters Nicole Coffer (21 kills) and Crisi Nihipali (18 kills), Fullerton forced the Pirates into mistakes and helped pave the way for a Game 1 win.

"Their (the Hornets') serving was strong and we got out of sync," Cutenese said.

The Pirates picked things up in Game 2 and became the aggressor, jumping out to a 25-21 lead on the hitting of Reed and middle blockers Rebecca Lowe (10 kills) and Jessica Roy (11 kills). The middle duo combined to hit an astounding .677 (21 for 31) for the night, freeing up opportunities for the outside hitters.

"Our middles were great tonight," Cutenese said. "It seemed like every ball they hit, they got to the floor."

Fullerton ripped off four straight points to tie the game at 25 before kills from Roy, Reed and Deirdre Fiapai helped spark a 5-2 run to even the match at a game apiece.

Game 3 was the game of the night. With no lead larger than four the entire way, both teams traded punches down the stretch before an errant return gave Fullerton a 29-28 advantage and a game-point opportunity.

But a Roy kill and a long Hornet return gave Coast its first of three straight game points, the third coming off an impossible-angle kill by Reed, giving OCC a 32-31 lead.

Reed finished the job off on the next point, ripping a kill to the floor and giving the Pirates a 2-1 lead in games.

"We lost our focus late in the third game and it was nice to see us get it back before it was too late," Cutenese said. "Jacqi really picked up her game and played her strongest match of the season. That was great to see tonight."

OCC carried that momentum into Game 4 and never trailed the rest of the way. Strong defense by Reed and freshman libero Kayla Cutler (25 digs) helped limit Fullerton's attempt to create any long rallies.

Pirates' freshman setter Emily Lyon sparked the offense with 53 assists and her steady play limited OCC hitting errors down the stretch.

"This was a big win against a very good Fullerton team," Cutenese said. "We are going to have to play them again at their place (on Oct. 31), so it was nice to pull this one out on our home court."

OCC returns to action at Santa Ana on Wednesday (7 p.m.) before returning home for another tough test -- Golden West -- on Friday at 7 p.m.