Pirates, Vikings set to face off for state volleyball title
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (20-1) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
Long Beach (18-3) | 22 | 21 | 22 | 0 |
COSTA MESA -- Those who saw the first two meetings of the season between the Orange Coast College men's volleyball team and rival Long Beach City College probably had an gut feeling those two powerhouse programs would meet for the last match of the 2022 season.
And ... that's exactly how things shaped out for both programs as the No. 1 Vikings (18-2) and the No. 2 Pirates (19-1) square off on Saturday night (7 p.m.) for the state title at the California Community College Athletic Association Men's Volleyball State Championships, hosted by El Camino College.
There will be very few surprises for either team on Saturday after both teams battled each other to a pair of five-set thrillers during the early portion of the season.
In the third match of the season, OCC hosted the Vikings in the second match of the John Altobelli Memorial North/South Quad and the two programs emptied the tanks on one another, with the Pirates prevailing, 21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 15-8. Seven different Viking players had four-or-more kills, with Kyler Tufuga leading the way with eight. For the Pirates, their big hitters of Will Anderson (18 kills), Cash Adamsen (11 kills) and Sam Warren (10 kills) carried most of OCC's offensive load.
Eleven days later, it was more of the same, but this time, it was the host Vikings who came out on top with a 23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 15-13 win, giving OCC it's lone loss of the season. Anderson again led the way with 23 kills, while Adamsen added nine. For the Vikings, Erik Hernandez stepped up from his four-kill performance in the previous matchup with 21 kills and seven digs in the rematch.
"I always enjoy playing Long Beach and (coach Jonathan Charette's) teams because you know they're going to bring their best game to you every time," OCC head coach Travis Turner said. "Their grit and defense are impressive. They just don't quit. Hernandez is a handful and we've got to find a way to slow him down a bit."
Winners of 14 straight, the Pirates rolled to the title match after a straight-set win over Irvine Valley on Thursday night.
Long Beach took on the home cooking of host El Camino in its semifinal match and needed four sets to prevail, 25-19, 20-25, 30-28, 25-15. Zavala was unstoppable with 24 kills (with just two hitting errors) and 14 digs. The setting combo of Joseph Rocha (33 assists) and Sean Nguyen (24 assists) helped keep LBCC's offense moving all over the floor, while their team collected a whopping 60 digs -- Tufuga leading that category with 21.
Much like the Vikings, the Pirates spread their offense around with setters Josh Friedman (397 assists for the season) and Grayson Kling (234 assists) feeding several Pirate options, including Anderson (240 kills), Adamsen (116 kills), Warren (110 kills) and Jake Diddy (82 kills), among others.
"I love that we both play in a 6-2 style, which provides more offense," Turner said. "Passing is going to be crucial for us. If we are in system, we can create some defensive stress. Also, our blocking needs to be solid especially if we can get them out of system."
Both teams are used to the limelight of a championship match. This is OCC's 18th state championship match in school history and the Pirates are gunning for their eighth state title (1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2014, 2017). For the Vikings, this is trip No. 17 to the title match since 1976. The defending state champs (from 2019) look for their 11th state title in program history.
