Pirates dropped in four

SANTA MONICA — First impressions held form in the case of the men’s volleyball teams from Orange Coast College and Long Beach City.

Long Beach City swept the season opener Feb. 7 and the Vikings prevailed Friday night, 30-24, 25-30, 30-24, 30-25, in the semifinals of the California Community College Commission on Athletics championships at Santa Monica College.

The loss ended the Pirates’ season at 17-4 and denied them what would have been the program’s 11th trip to a state title match.

OCC won state championships in 1994, 1991, 1990, 1989 and 1897.

The Pirates were state runners-up in 2002, 1997, 1996, 1982 and 1981.

But it was the Vikings (16-2) who kept their state title hopes alive, thanks to a decisive blocking advantage and more efficient serving.

Freshman outside hitter Kevin Welch, sophomore middle blocker Brett Lessman and freshman middle blocker Rick Schroeder had four kills apiece for the Pirates in Game 1, while Long Beach was led by Naseri Tumanuvao’s four kills.

Orange Coast rallied from a 4-1 deficit in Game 2 to seize a 16-11 lead on the way to evening the match.

At the end of Game 2, Schroeder had seven kills to pace the Pirates.

Serving woes returned for OCC in Game 3, as they produced six service errors. OCC also was burned by mishandled balls and net violations.

With Long Beach leading, 27-19, in Game 3, OCC surged briefly, closing to within 27-23. But after a Vikings timeout, the Western States Conference champions scored three of the next four points to close out the game.

Long Beach opened a 5-1 lead in Game 4, but OCC rallied to take leads of 12-11 and 14-13. Long Beach surged ahead, 18-14, but OCC rallied again to come within 19-18 and 21-20. The Vikings, however, regained control and closed out the match, despite seven service errors.

Lessman and Knutson finished with 10 kills apiece for OCC, which received eight kills from Welch and Schroeder.

Tumanuvao, the Western States Conference Player of the Year, led the winners with 13 kills.

Long Beach City, the defending state champion, will face Irvine Valley in Saturday’s 7 p.m. final. The Lasers defeated Los Angeles Pierce, 30-28, 28-30, 38-36, 28-30, 15-7, in the other semifinal Friday.

Irvine Valley’s starting lineup includes former Corona del Mar High middle blocker Ted Slaughter and former Newport Harbor High libero Sean Grubbs.

OCC, under the guidance of first-year coach Travis Turner, responded from its first loss to Long Beach with a 14-match winning streak. The Pirates then lost two straight, before sweeping Golden West to close out the regular season. OCC lost the first two games in Tuesday’s quarterfinal against visiting Santa Monica, but rallied to claim a five-game victory.