Pirates advance to State Final Four with sweep over Miramar

COSTA MESA -- The defending state champion Orange Coast College men's volleyball will return to the scene of last year's championship as the Pirates advance to the State Final Four with a three-set sweep over visiting Miramar in the Southern California Regional playoffs on Friday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Sebastian Lara led the No. 3-seeded Pirates (16-3) with 13 kills, while Elgin Liu added seven kills (no errors) and five block assists. Myles Henderson also knocked down seven kills, while the setting duo of Brock Henderson and Landon Seymour combined for 27 assists. On defense, libero Hide Nakamura took care of business with eight digs. 

With the win, OCC will advance to the CCCAA State Final Four, where they will take on No. 7 Moorpark, who upset No. 2 Irvine Valley in a stunner, 25-15, 26-24, 25-23, on Friday night. The Pirates and Raiders will play at El Camino College on Thursday night, beginning at 5 pm. 

With no match for OCC over the past nine days, the rust was on the Pirates' gears early on in the first set. Coast led 16-11, but an 11-5 run put the Jets up, 22-21 and had thoughts of stealing the opening set. But OCC maintained its poise and with a kill by Trent Douphner and a errant Miramar kill attempt, the Pirates regained the lead, 23-22, forcing the Jets into a timeout.

A long OCC serve evened the score at 23, but a Lara kill and another errant kill attempt by the Jets, allowed the Pirates to take the opening set, 25-23.

Miramar grabbed hold of the early second-set lead, 6-2, but the Pirates responded with an 11-3 run to grab a 13-9 advantage. The lead grew to six at 21-15 before a mini run by the Jets made the Pirates focus on a strong finish down the stretch, which they did to grab a 2-0 lead in the match.

In spite of the three-set sweep, the Jets refused to go away and in the third set, both teams were back and forth, with OCC holding into a 21-20 lead. Back-to-back points from a Myles Henderson kill and a Miramar return into the net forced the Jets into a timeout and gave the Pirates a 23-20 advantage. From there, both teams traded points, with a Myles Henderson kill ending the match and sending the Pirates into the State Semifinals. 

Thursday's matchup with the Raiders will be the first meeting between the two schools this year.