Pirates advance to title match by sweeping Griffins

LONG BEACH -- The Orange Coast College men's volleyball team have reached its end-of-the-season destination, thanks to a 25-15, 25-23, 27-25 win over Grossmont on Thursday in the semifinals of the 2012 California Community College Athletic Association Men's Volleyball State Championships, held at Long Beach City College.

Chris Van Vuuren led OCC (15-4) with 17 kills, while Dillon Emery added 12 kills and four digs. Victor Schaefer anchored the defense with seven digs, while Michael Ensign dished out 41 assists.

For the Griffins (12-8), Shalimar Buchanan led the offense with nine kills, while Jacob Haar added eight. Shane Beatty dished out 31 assists.

The Pirates will be making their third trip to the state finals in the past five years and are looking for their first state championship since 1994.

After beating Grossmont twice during the regular season, the Pirates drew first blood in the opening game, jumping out to a 17-6 lead thanks to four kills by Van Vuuren and a pair of put-aways by Emery. That lead stayed comfortable the rest of the game as the Coast defense kept the Griffins from any long point-producing runs.

In Game 2, Grossmont jumped out to an early 6-1 lead before a 10-3 run put OCC in front, 11-9. Both teams went back and forth and with the game tied a 23, back-to-back kills by John Christian and Emery put the Pirates up 2-0 in the match.

Much like Game 2, Game 3 was a dogfight as both teams battled for the upper hand. With Grossmont ahead 23-21, a Griffin service error and a Christian kill tied the game at 23. Following a GC timeout, OCC took a 24-23 lead on a kill by Austin Bagby.

Grossmont fought off back-to-back match points, but at 26-25, a service ace by Bagby sealed the deal for the Pirates. They will face the winner of the Long Beach City/Irvine Valley matchup on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at LBCC for the 2012 state championship.