Orange Coast College

36 and counting: Pirates roll past Fullerton in three

Friday, October 06, 2006

COSTA MESA - The first "test" was passed with flying colors by the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team on Friday night with a three-game sweep over visiting Fullerton, 30-19, 30-21, 30-26.
The Hornets came in with a No. 13 state ranking and a perfect record in Orange Empire Conference play through two matches so the defending state champs knew their game needed to raise a notch or two.
Mission accomplished.
"It really was a new level for this team," OCC head coach Chuck Cutenese said of his team's 36th straight win, dating back to last year. "It was our best start to a match all season long. We came out flying in the first game, played strong in the second and rebounded from an early lull in the third game. Overall, I was very pleased."
The Hornets (8-3, 2-1) had every reason to feel confident against the Pirates, after playing them tough at the Santa Ana Tournament, eventually falling, 30-28.
However, sophomore All-American Kiwi Winkler wasn't at that match. She was on the court on Friday and hammered 18 kills, 17 digs and four blocks and three aces. Freshman Jacqi Reed also impressed the OCC crowd with 14 kills, eight digs and two aces.
Ashlee Moon anchored the defense with 18 digs, while setter Chelsea Spadaro dished out 39 assists.
"We knew that Fullerton was going to be strong and they work hard over there," Cutenese said. "They knew they were close against us the last time, so we had to come in and play strong."
After Fullerton took a slim 10-8 lead in Game 1, OCC (10-0, 3-0) put the pedal to the medal and went on a 12-3 run to take control of things. Winkler and Reed repeatedly sent kills screaming over the net as the duo put forth their best hitting, power-wise, of the season.
In Game 2, another strong run (8-0) gave the Pirates the lead for good and with excellent ball control on defense, Fullerton could not mount any type of long run to respond. Trailing 19-15, the Hornets saw the Pirates use four straight 2-1 mini-runs to slowly extend their lead.
Fullerton's best attempt to get back into the match took place early in Game 3 as Lindsay Laakso (team-high 18 kills) paved the way to a 15-7 Hornet lead.
But the Pirates responded like a champion. Trailing 16-9, the Pirates ripped off 11 of the next 12 points to take the lead for good.
Fullerton hung tough and cut the deficit to two at 26-24, but the depth of the Pirates would not allow the Hornets to get any closer.
"I was very happy with the way our bench played tonight," Cutenese said. "We'd bring in our substitutions and we were able to maintain our high level of play. That's going to be huge for us the later we go on in the season."
It doesn't get any easier for the Pirates as they head up the 405 freeway to face 15th ranked Golden West on Wednesday, beginning at 7 p.m.
"They're big and physical, so it going to come down to our ball control and passing," Cutenese said. "Whichever team can control things the best on their end of the court will win."