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Photo courtesy of Chloe Steele
Photo courtesy of Chloe Steele

Safavi, Pirates roll past Lasers in four

COSTA MESA -- Nika Safavi came out swinging and did not stop as the Orange Coast College women's volleyball team rode her right arm to a four-set win over rival Irvine Valley on Wednesday night inside the Peterson Gym.

Safavi, OCC's freshman outside hitter, had 22 kills on 71 attempts and added 19 digs as the Pirates toppled the Lasers, 25-15, 25-15, 23-25, 25-21, to improve to 10-1 overall, 2-0 in the Orange Empire Conference.

Caprie Troccoli added 11 kills, while Kennedy Cutler and Jordan Packer each added five. Packer also dished out 38 assists and notched 13 digs.

Hailey Oldham had 11 kills for the Lasers (0-10, 0-2).

IVC came out loose and care-free in the opening set and jumped out to an early 9-6 advantage before Coast found another gear and ripped off eight straight points to take the lead for good. Strong serves from Abagail Brown and three Troccoli kills helped spark that run and forced the Lasers into a timeout. 

The Lasers trimmed the deficit to three at 17-14, only to see Coast score five in a row to pull away for good to take the first set, 25-15.

It was more of the same in the second set as Irvine Valley hung around, trailing only by four (17-13) before some unforced errors enabled Coast to score seven straight to roll into a 2-0 set lead the match.

In the third, Coast carried another 17-13 advantage and looked to end the match early, but IVC had other plans, scoring five straight points to lead, 18-17.

Both teams traded points the rest of the way and on their lone set-point opportunity, an Oldham kill wrapped things up for the Lasers, who stayed alive with a 25-23 win.

It was another dogfight in the fourth set as both teams battled back and forth, with the Pirates clinging to a 20-19 advantage. But Safavi, who was OCC go-to hitter all night, came up with a pair of kills to highlight a mini 3-0 run, putting Coast up, 23-19.

A pair of IVC points put the celebration on pause before Coast ripped off the final two points to wrap up the match.

OCC, winners of 10 in a row after its season-opening defeat, will return to action on Friday at home against Riverside College, beginning at 6 p.m.

 

 

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