Pirates, Rustlers to honor Knipe

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's volleyball team will honor a former Pirate player and current U.S. Olympic Men's Volleyball head coach Alan Knipe during Wednesday night's matchup with rival Golden West, beginning at 6 p.m. inside the Peterson Gym. 
 
"Coach Knipe is a product of the Community College system having played at OCC and later coached at Golden West,"  OCC head coach Travis Turner said. "We feel that this is the perfect opportunity to honor one of our own and at the same time promote the importance of community college athletics."
 
Here are some of the Knipe's achievements, both as a player and as a coach ...
 
• Graduated from Huntington Beach HS in 1987
• Played at OCC in 1988 before transferring to Long Beach State
• Played for 49ers from 1990-92 and helped lead 49ers to NCAA Championship in 1991
• Men's volleyball coach at Golden West from 1994-95
• Helped lead Rustlers to state championship in 1995 and was named California State Coach of the Year
• Was an assistant coach at Long Beach State from 1996-2000 before becoming head coach of the 49ers in 2000
• Has led 49ers to one NCAA final (2004), one semifinal appearance (2009) and six postseason appearances over the past nine years.
• Was named 2008 Volleyball Magazine Coach of the Year
• Was named the head coach of the U.S. National Team on April 2, 2009
• U.S. Men's Team went 26-15 in 2011
• In 2010, led the U.S. Men to a 14-7 record, including a sixth place finish at the FIVB World Championship and an eight place in the FIVB World League 
 
Knipe will be honored between the second and third set of Wednesday's match, which proves to be the perfect atmosphere for the occasion.
 
Heading into tonight's match, the Pirates stand alone in first place in the PCC with a conference record of 8-1 (11-4 overall). The Rustlers are in second place at 7-2 (10-4 overall) with Grossmont (8-6 overall) and Irvine Valley (8-7 overall) tied for the third and final playoff spot at 6-3. A win by the Pirates would all but wrap up their second consecutive conference title, while a loss would further muddle up the playoff situation all the way around.
 
Inside the GWC gym on March 9, the Pirates overcame a rowdy crowd and a relentless Rustler team to prevail, 26-24, 21-25, 30-28, 18-25, 15-13. In that win, Dillon Emery (pictured left) had a match-high 25 kills, while teammates Rusty Sary and Chris Van Vuuren each added 12 kills. Setter Michael Ensign dished out 52 assists, while Libero Victor Schaefer came up with 10 digs.

After an inconsistent start, the Pirates have turned things around during the second half of the 2012 season. Emery, a freshman opposite for the Pirates, leads the state in kills with 203. Across the court, Van Vuuren has been solid with 120 kills, while Sary has notched 85 as an outside hitter as well, further adding depth to the offense. In the middle, the trio of Sam Jergens, Austin Bagby and Ensign have combined for 97 blocks and have been a solid front line of defense. Ensign, OCC's setter, is fourth in the state with 446 assists, while Schaefer picked up the starting job early on during the season and has notched 65 digs over that span.

Players to keep an eye on for the Rustlers' point production include Aaron Gerardi (187 kills) and Philip Lopez (131 kills). In the middle, GWC has one of the top blocking teams in the state with Jose Ulloa (109 blocks), Jack Terry (109 blocks) and Jimmy Torromeo (67 blocks). Ryan Redira (126 digs) and Aaron Gerardi (123 digs) anchor the defense, while setters Weston Carico (283 assists) and Barry Fryslie (297 assists) keep the GWC offense running smoothly.