Pirates dispatch Rustlers in three
COSTA MESA -- Before the guest of honor -- former Orange Coast College men's volleyball player and current U.S. Men's National Head Coach Alan Knipe -- even had a chance to get his bleacher seat warmed up, the Pirates had already taken care of business, sweeping past rival Golden West College, 25-22, 25-22, 25-17, on Wednesday night.
Perhaps it was best for Knipe -- also a former head coach for the Rustlers -- to see as little as possible to avoid any sort of allegiance towards one of his former teams.
"Both of these programs mean a lot to me, so this is a tough match to watch," Knipe said to the large Peterson Gym crowd during a special in-match ceremony.
For OCC fans, players and coaches, it was a pain-free evening as the Pirates put a stranglehold on the Pacific Coast Conference, holding a two-game lead on the Rustlers with Wednesday's win, with only two more matches left to go. Coast will look to wrap things up on Wednesday at home against San Diego City College, beginning at 6 p.m.
Chris Van Vuuren led OCC (12-4, 9-1 in PCC) with 15 kills and three aces, while Dillon Emery added 13 kills and a team-best seven digs. Michael Ensign dished out 43 assists to lead the Pirates to their eighth straight win.
Weston Carico led the Rustlers (10-5, 7-3) with 10 kills.
OCC jumped out to a fast start, but an 8-3 Rustler run put GWC on top, 13-12 early in the first game. Both teams battled back and forth and with OCC on top 20-19, a pair of Emery kills and a put-away by Austin Bagby put Coast up 23-19. GWC scored three of the next four points, but the Pirates finally wrapped up the first game with an Emery kill.
Game 2 was nearly a carbon copy of the opener as OCC jumped out early before the Rustlers regrouped and got back into things. Finally, with the Pirates up 19-18, a pair of Van Vuuren kills were sandwiched around a pair of wide Rustler returns, putting Coast up 23-18. Again, another late rally by the Rustlers forced OCC into a timeout at 24-22, but the Pirates managed to put the match away (again) with an Emery kill.
Following Knipe's brief ceremony, Coast blew open Game 3 with 7-1 run to take a 15-8 advantage. It was a lead that was never threatened the rest of the way as the Pirates finished the match off in just over an hour.
GAME NOTES -- Coast will look for its second consecutive PCC title with a win on Wednesday night. Knipe was presented with a plaque by his former head coach -- and newest member of the OCC Athletic Hall of Fame -- Bob Wetzel, honoring his service in the community college level. Several former players from various levels of volleyball were on hand for Wednesday's match to honor Knipe for his contributions to the sport.
