Pirates go 2-0 in season-opening quad

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College men's volleyball team showed off some impressive tools as the Pirates toppled Santa Monica City College in four sets before sweeping past Long Beach in three sets at the 2026 John Altobelli Memorial Quad on Saturday inside the Peterson Gym.

In a long day of volleyball, the Pirates came out 2-0 to kick off the 2026 campaign as they look to return to the top of the 3C2A men's volleyball mountain ... a spot they made home for three straight years before falling in the state semifinals last year. 

In the win over Long Beach City, Quentin Ryan had 11 kills for OCC, while Ben Bray added eight kills. The duo of Victor Loiola and Seth Sainz each ripped seven kills, with Sainz contributing five total blocks and Loiola four. 

Dishing out the passes were Keagin Christenson (19 assists) and Jett Reyes (14 assists), while libero Nathan Jackson anchored the defense with nine digs.

In the opening set, Coast jumped out quickly on the Vikings and led 17-9, as the OCC offense was distributing the ball nicely, with several Pirates earning kills along the way.

The Vikings found their groove late and got to within two points twice (23-21 and 24-22) but on set point, a wide return off a LBCC hitter gave the Pirates the win.

Long Beach carried that late-set momentum into the early parts of the second set and led midway through, 14-12. But, OCC fought back and ripped off seven straight points to grab a 19-14 advantage. A pair of Loiola blocks and some strong serves from Reyes helped spark that rally and that put OCC into the lead for good en route to a 2-0 lead in the match.

Coast found another gear early in the third set as Bray and the Pirates jumped out to a commanding 11-3 lead early on. It was still a seven-point advantage at 17-10 before one final LBCC push got the Vikings to within two at 20-18, forcing OCC into a timeout.

The response from the Pirates was back-to-back kills from Loiola and Ryan and from there, both teams traded points until a Loiola kill ended the match.

Coast will return to action on Tuesday at home against Moorpark College, beginning at 6 p.m.