Orange Coast College

Women's Volleyball: Pirates topple Rustlers in four on Sophomore Night

Friday, November 14, 2008

COSTA MESA -- With third place at stake in the Orange Empire Conference standings, the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team came out aggressive and took care of business against visiting Golden West, 25-21, 25-12, 24-26, 25-21 on Friday night at OCC's Peterson Gym.

It was a far cry from the Pirates' first encounter with the Rustlers, a three-game GW sweep, 25-17, 25-23, 25-13, back on Oct. 22.

"The first time we played the, they (the Rustlers) were the aggressive team and we didn't pass well," OCC head coach Chuck Cutenese said. "Tonight, it was the exact opposite -- we were the aggressive team and that forced some bad passed on their end. We did a better job of serving aggressively and I think the home court with our supportive crowd played into it. Our players really feed off of that support."

Throw into the mix that it was "Sophomore Night" and the intensity was thrown even higher as veterans Christina Richards (pictured left, 10 kills), Jena Curry (pictured below, 15 digs) and Emily Lyon (pictured far left, 46 assists) each provided solid play in their last regular season match at home.

Trailing 13-10 in the opening game, OCC (17-4, 9-4 in conference) came to life with a 9-0 run, all sparked by the baffling floating jump-serve of Lyon, who came up with three aces during the streak.

After Golden West (16-5, 8-5) got the serve back, the Rustlers answered with an 8-2 run of their own to tie things up at 21.

But a long serve, a lift violation, a Rachel Freeno kill and a long return gave OCC the final four points of the game.

It was ALL Orange Coast in Game 2 as the Pirates jumped out to an 18-6 lead and never looked back. Coast found its offensive success in the middle as Richards and freshman Briana Fields went to work. Fields finished with a team-high 15 kills. The strong middle play enabled Freeno to contribute 12 kills from the outside.

"Lately, that's been a huge help to us," Cutenese said of his team's play in the middle. "I've been especially pleased with Christina (Richards') play of late. The strong hitting in the middle allows our outside hitters more one-on-one blocking."

It looked to be a quick night as Game 3 continued on the same path as Games 1 and 2. OCC jumped out early and held a 24-18 lead before the Rustlers came to life.

Led by four big blocks from Taylor Cook, and a block and two kills from Maritza Montez, the Rustlers fought off six straight match points with an 8-0 run to tie the game, then win the game, 26-24.

GWC carried that momentum into Game 4 as the Rustlers jumped out to a 7-1 lead, thanks in large part to the play of Montez (10 kills), Cook (nine kills, six blocks) and Kristy Trimble (five kills).

But the Pirates managed to slowly peck away into the Rustlers' advantage to even the game at 18 as Freeno, Fields and Karlee Skalla begin to hit around and off the Golden West blockers.

Trailing 20-18, OCC ended the match with a 7-1 run, capped off with a Richards' block to end the nearly two-hour contest.

"To lose that third game the way we did and to fall behind 7-1, I was very proud of how we were able to overcome all of that and still come back and win," Cutenese said. "That's the kind of effort we need to produce night in and night out."

OCC wraps up the regular season at Riverside College on Wednesday night at 6 p.m.