Pirates stunned by Lancers in five; OCC eliminated from playoffs
COSTA MESA -- Despite a valiant effort from Karlee Riggs and the rest of the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team, there was no getting around the upset-minded Pasadena City College Lancers on Saturday night.
After dropping the first two sets, the No. 5 Lancers stormed back using their size and depth to overpower the No. 4 Pirates, 19-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-17, 16-14 in the second round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs.
With the win, the Lancers (21-4) will advance to the state quarterfinals, where they await the winner of tonight's matchup between L.A. Pierce and El Camino. Noralia To'omalatai led the way with 19 kills, wile Jacke Valle-Acosta added 14, Yanise Joseph chipped in 13 and Viridiana Gallardo knocked in 12 to go along with 11 digs.
Pasadena's defensive stantout was libero Jennifer Estrada with 31 digs, while setter Kailey Faust dished out 62 assists.
The loss ends the Pirates' season at 19-3. Karlee Riggs led all hitters with 31 kills -- her third 30-plus-kill performance of the year. However, the lack of depth in the Coast offense showed as no other player reached double figures for the night. Andi Frisina ended here strong Coast career with 21 digs, while Allison Lumsden passed around 45 assists.
Much like their first matchup back on Sept. 19 (a three-set sweep for OCC, 25-13, 25-23, 25-19), the Pirates came out hot, putting the Lancers on their heels early on.
Several "mini-runs" by the Pirates helped provide a 17-10 advantage in the first set -- a lead they would not lose the rest of the opener.
Pasadena used a 7-1 run to take the early lead in the second set (10-7), thanks to the strong play of Megan Callen, who finished the night with nine kills and eight total blocks. PCC's size in the middle enabled the guests to grab a 20-7 lead in total blocks for the night.
But Riggs -- who is headed to the University of Hawaii in the Spring -- almost single-handedly carried Coast back from its deficit, using 11 kills in the second set to lead Coast to a 2-0 lead in the match.
From there, Pasadena began its comeback run, using a barrage of kills from Joseph, To'omalatai and Valle-Acosta and big blocks from Callen and Valle-Acosta (six total) to dominate the third and fourth games. The Lancers never trailed in those two sets, quickly tying the match at two sets apiece.
In the fifth set, OCC appeared to have the upper hand early on. A pair of kills by Riggs, an ace by Frisina and some unforced errors by the Lancers gave the Pirates an 8-5 lead at the crossover.
But the Lancers quickly stormed back, using a pair of To'omalatai, a kill by Callen and a block by Callen and Faust to grab a 9-8 lead, forcing OCC into a timeout.
After both teams traded points, three Riggs' kills sparked a 3-1 run, putting OCC up 13-12.
Valle-Acosta tied things up at 13 with a kill, but a return into the net by the Lancers have Coast a match-point opportunity at 14-13.
But Gallardo came through with a kill to tie things back up at 14 and on the next point, a back-row attempt by the Pirates was sent back by Callen's fifth solo block of the night, putting Pasadena on match point.
After a Coast timeout, one final hit by Riggs sailed long, ending the match, and the season, for the Pirates.
MATCH NOTES -- Riggs finished her two-year career with 730 kills, second all-time in OCC history (Kiwi Winkler had 895 for Coast in 2005-06) ... Frisina notched 655 total digs, good enough for third all-time in school history, while Lumsden's 1,419 assists place her fifth all time in school history.
