Orange Coast College

Men's Volleyball: Pirates make quick work of rival Rustlers

Friday, April 09, 2010

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's volleyball team is back on the winning trail.

Following a heartbreaking loss to Irvine Valley last Friday, the Pirates swept past San Diego Mesa on Wednesday, then, followed that up with a three-game victory over rival Golden West on Friday, 30-28, 30-25, 30-21.

Brad Hemmerling led the way for OCC (15-2, 9-2 in Pacific Coast Conference) with 18 kills, while teammate Troy Tomasello added 10 from the right side. Setter Paul Leon dished out 37 assists.

It looked like it was going to be another marathon match between the two of the top volleyball programs in California men's volleyball history. Golden West (7-9, 5-5) led for most of Game 1 before Orange Coast regrouped and rallied late. Trailing 17-11, OCC ripped off seven straight points to take an 18-17 advantage.

But GWC answered with an 8-3 run of its own and led 25-21 before OCC responded.

Kills by Hardy Wooldridge, Hemmerling and Tomasello were combined with four Rustler errors, giving the Pirates a 29-28 lead during a 9-3 run. Coast ended the rally with a Hemmerling ace, giving Coast the Game 1 win.

In Game 2, Golden West again jumped out to an early lead before the Pirates managed to pull away late. Hemmerling was the team's leader, ripping 10 kills in Game 2 alone to give Coast a two-game lead in the match.

The final game was all Orange Coast as the Pirates jumped out to an 11-4 lead and never looked back. Golden West would get to within six at 22-16, but would get no closer as OCC used a late-game run to pull away from the Rustlers down the stretch.

The Pirates will wrap up the regular season at home on Friday against San Diego City, beginning at 6 p.m.