Pirates host Citrus in playoff opener
COSTA MESA – Following an 18-2 regular season and a 10-2 run through the Orange Empire Conference, the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team will open up its playoff schedule at home against Citrus College tonight inside the Peterson Gym.
Coast (seeded fourth for this year's playoffs) finished the regular season as the Orange Empire Conference runner-up to Golden West (19-3, 11-1).
After cruising through the majority of the 2012 season, the Pirates were tripped up in a couple of matches down the stretch against Irvine Valley and in the season finale against Golden West. With the do-or-die playoffs on the horizon, Coast will look to rely upon several veteran players to bring the swagger back to this impressive lineup.
Leading the way for the Pirates is sophomore outside hitter Karlee Riggs. An All-Southern California selection last year, the 2012 Orange Empire Conference MVP has been the offensive leader for Coast from the day she stepped foot on the Peterson Gym floor. This year, she has racked up 324 kills and leads the state in kills-per-game average (5.28/game). She is tied for the team lead with 25 aces and is third on the team with 177 digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Morgan Link (102 kills, 34 total blocks), sophomore outside hitter Dana Nicholson (73 kills, 181 digs) and sophomore opposite Isabel Emrich (58 kills) will have to find a way to give the OCC offense more options for success against the 13th-seeded Owls.
Setter Allison Lumsden was another bright spot for the Pirates, dishing out 616 total assists to her teammates to go along with 56 kills, 25 aces and 92 digs.
Also among the Coast leaders is sophomore Andi Frisina, who amassed 241 digs and joined Riggs and Lumsden atop the team lead with 25 aces.
Citrus finished the 2012 season with a record of 14-8 overall, 8-4 in the Western State Conference's South Division. The Owls finished the regular season with a three-match win streak. However, in head-to-head play, Coast defeated Citrus in three sets, 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 back on Sept. 7.
Freshman Kayla Eddings leads the Owls' offense with 192 kills and 47 total blocks, but the options don't end there. In fact, four other Citrus players – Kimberly Collins (172 kills, 44 blocks), Chelsey Martinez (147 kills), Alexis Lunney (144) and Kassidy Greenberg (118 kills, 34 blocks) are all players the Pirates will have to contain in order to be successful. Setter Amanda Stone has dished out 734 assists this year, while on defense, Breanna Stone has led the charge with 273 digs.
The winner of tonight's matchup will face the winner of the L.A. Pierce/Rio Hondo matchup on Saturday, beginning at 7 p.m.
