Pirates hang on over Lasers to return to State Final Four

COSTA MESA -- The three-time defending state champion Orange Coast College men's volleyball needed championship heart when the "A" game wasn't there and on Friday night, that heart showed up in spades as the Pirates edged rival Irvine Valley in five sets in the Southern California Regional Playoffs inside the Peterson Gym.

With the win, the second-seeded Pirates (21-3) make their 10th consecutive State Final Four appearance and will take on San Diego Mesa (20-3) on Thursday at OCC in the semifinals of the 3C2A Men's Volleyball State Championships. Time is to be determined. 

Kam Vakilian and Noah Keelin each had 14 kills for the Pirates, while Ashtonn Florentin added 13 kills. 

After a five-set thriller erased the earlier three-set sweep by OCC, Irvine Valley knew they had the opportunity of a lifetime to dethrone their longtime rivals and deny them an opportunity at a fourth consecutive state championship. In the opening set, the Lasers came out and were the far superior team, jumping out to a 12-3 lead, using several OCC mistakes to help put the hosts in an early hole.

The Pirates were never in the opening set and Irvine Valley cruised to a 25-16 win, forcing the Pirates into a quick regroup.

With plenty of championship experience on the side of Orange Coast, the Pirates DID regroup and took the second set. The offense was spread around by setters Jase Fukushima and Keegin Christenson as Keelin, Vakilian, Florentin and middle blocker Lukas Morse found success on offense as the Pirates evened the match with a 25-16 win over their own.

Coast trailed midway through the third set, 16-14 before using a 7-1 run to grab a 21-17 advantage in the all-important third set. Three kills by Florentin and two by Vakilian along with an ace from Kai Van Bourgondien pushed the Pirates back out in front.

After an IVC timeout, the momentum quickly shifted back to the Lasers as they ripped off an 8-2 run to stun the Pirates and take the third set, 25-23. A block by Lucas Vo, a wide OCC return and a kill by Spencer York  capped off the stunning comeback rally, putting the Pirates one more loss away from elimination.

The Lasers had their opportunity deliver the knockout punch and after falling behind 22-21, three straight points by the Lasers gave them a pair of match-point opportunities as the Pirates were one point away from their season being over.

OCC fought off the first match-point by IVC with a wide return by the Lasers. Then, the duo of Morse and Tyler Degner came up with a big block on an Irvine Valley kill attempt, sending the ball back and tying the fourth set at 24. 

On the next OCC serve, a bad pass by the Lasers forced a wide return, giving Coast a 25-24 lead and an opportunity to stay in the match. From there, another errant return by the Lasers and just like that, the Pirates were very much alive and well with a 26-24 win, forcing a 15-point, winner-take-all fifth set for a berth in the State Final Four up for grabs.

Both teams gave it all they had in the fifth set and both teams traded punches throughout. With the score tied at 10, a long IVC serve, a Keelin kill and a Surrette block pushed Coast in front, 13-10, forcing IVC into a timeout.

But back came the Lasers. A kill by Joshua Damianopoulos and a pair of long OCC returns and all of a sudden, the fifth set was tied at 13, with OCC calling timeout.

From there, both teams whacked away with OCC's Vakilian and IVC's Tucker McClain traded points as the Lasers fought off four match-point opportunities for the Pirates.

Finally, with Coast up, 17-16, a strong serve by Van Bourgondien could not be sent back over, ending the match and sending the OCC players and fans into a frenzy.

The matchup on Thursday with the Olympians will be the third meeting of these two outstanding teams and a rematch of last year's state championship. This year, Coast is 2-0, sweeping the Olympians here at OCC on Feb. 26 (25-22, 25-16, 25-14) and rallying for a five-set win at Mesa College on March 21 (21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-10).