Orange Coast College

Women's Volleyball: Pirates fall in five to Cypress

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

COSTA MESA -- Much like the 405 Freeway at 5 p.m., there is bumper-to-bumper traffic at the top of the Orange Empire Conference women's volleyball standings, courtesy of the Cypress Chargers.

In a two-hour marathon match, the Orange Coast College Pirates lost in five games to visiting Cypress, 25-13, 22-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-13 on Wednesday, creating a three-way tie for first place in the OEC.

It was a defensive battle for both teams as the fifth-ranked Pirates (14-2, 8-2 in OEC) and the seventh-ranked Chargers (15-4, 8-2) traded haymaker after haymaker.

Poerava Gantt led Coast with 23 kills and setter Kimya Jafroudi dished out 37 assists. On the defensive end, libero Nikki Osuna picked up 37 digs, while Rachel Freeno added 22 and Gantt contributed 20.

For the Chargers, it was a two-person show, led by Marina Samoa, who had a team-best 26 kills and 40 digs, while Katie Saavedra added 18 kills and 31 digs. Setter Gia Vargas notched 42 assists.

With the Chargers' win, they move into a three-way tie with the Pirates and Irvine Valley (12-2, 8-2) for the top of the OEC mountain. That will all change on Friday as the Chargers host IVC on Friday, while the Pirates host Riverside.

There was no indication of a five-game marathon was in the future of the Pirates as Cypress came out quicker and stronger early on, winning the first game handily and jumping out to a 15-5 lead in Game 2 to cap off a 40-18 run.

OCC went on a 10-6 run of its own to cut the deficit to 21-15, but from there, the Pirates turned up the intensity and, with the help of four Gantt kills, they went on a 10-2 run to even the match at a game apiece.

Cypress returned the favor in Game 3, overcoming a 21-18 lead with a 7-2 run down the stretch, sparked primarily by some errant passing by the Pirates.

In Game 4, OCC regained the momentum early and jumped out to a 16-8 lead. Cypress was able to cut the deficit down to four on four different occasions, but the Pirates did not allow the Chargers to get any closer to force a fifth and deciding game.

Early on, it was all OCC as a pair of Gantt kills, plus back-to-back aces from Khrystlin Santos sparked the Pirates to an 8-4 lead at the changeover.

After switching sides, the Chargers regrouped and ripped off eight of the next nine points to grab a 12-9 lead, highlighted by two kills and a solo block by Samoa.

OCC took a timeout and answered with back-to-back points off a Gantt kill and a net violation by the Chargers, forcing Cypress into a timeout.

From there, it was the hitting of Saavedra that closed out the match as she notched the final three points Cypress would need to close things out.