Defending champion Orange Coast continues to roll atop men's volleyball poll

IRVINE - Two-time defending state champion Orange Coast continues to roll as the top team in the latest Men’s Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll.

Since dropping a tough, five set match to Moorpark (34-32 in the fifth set) on Feb. 20, the Pirates have won seven straight matches. They won 21 of the 24 sets played in those contests.

Orange Coast has a record of 12-1 overall and is a perfect 5-0 in divisional play.

OCC even topped NAIA power Jamestown University in four sets last week.

In that match, Noah Keelin finished with 23 kills in 30 swings with just one error (.733 hitting percentage) and Jase Fukushima ended with 31 assists.

San Diego Mesa continued to be the second-ranked team in the state. The Olympians scored a big win over No. 3 Golden West last Wednesday, 21-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22 at home and then swept Santiago Canyon on Friday to improve to 11-1 overall and 4-1 in divisional play.

Against the Rustlers, Mesa hit .346 as a team, receiving 20 kills from Trevor Clark, 15 kills from Brandon Underwood and 43 assists from Logan Shepard.

For No. 3 Golden West, the defeat to Mesa was its first of the season.

The Rustlers are still one of the top teams in the state and have a record of 11-1 overall and 4-1 in divisional action.

Golden West responded with a 25-19, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19 victory over Miramar on Friday at home. Aidan Powell had 14 kills and 12 digs, Owen Banner added nine kills and setters John Braunstein (24 assists) and Jay Pearson (17 assists) ran the offense.

No. 4 is Moorpark, which has handed Orange Coast its only loss of the season. Moorpark (10-2 overall) has captured eight matches in a row and five of those have been sweeps. The Raiders defeated both El Camino and Fullerton in three sets last week.

In the 25-16, 25-22, 25-20 win at Fullerton on Friday, Jacob Knudsen finished with 15 kills and hit .652, and Tyler Linville had 10 kills and hit .500. Moorpark hit .391 as a team in the contest.

Long Beach City, Irvine Valley, Santa Barbara City, San Diego Miramar, Santa Monica and Fullerton round out the rest of the top 10.

State Leaders
Kills per set – Trevor Clark, San Diego Mesa (5.65)
Hitting percentage – Jasper Nadelson, Fullerton (.519)|
Blocks per set – Jacob Surette, Orange Coast (1.18)|
Digs per set – Cruz Cordova, Grossmont (3.86)
Assists per set – Logan Shepard, San Diego Mesa (10.42)

CCCMVCA State Top 10 for Mar. 11
1. Orange Coast (12-1, 5-0)
2. San Diego Mesa (11-1, 4-1)
3. Golden West (11-1, 4-1)
4. Moorpark (10-2, 4-0)
5. Long Beach City (7-5, 3-1)
6. Irvine Valley (9-3, 3-1)
7. Santa Barbara City (7-5, 2-1)
8. San Diego Miramar (7-5, 2-3)
9. Santa Monica (5-7, 2-2)
10. Fullerton (5-7, 0-1)

Top matches this week
Santa Monica at Long Beach (Mar. 12)
San Diego Miramar at San Diego Mesa (Mar. 12)
Moorpark at Santa Barbara City (Mar. 12)
Golden West at Irvine Valley (Mar. 12)
Irvine Valley at Orange Coast (Mar. 14)
Long Beach City at Fullerton (Mar. 14)

HIGHLIGHTED STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Travis Kaufman – Irvine Valley, freshman opposite hitter

Kaufman helped lead the Lasers, ranked No. 6 in the state, to two wins last week. Kaufman finished with 18 kills and seven digs in a 25-23, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19 win at Miramar on Wednesday. He hit .303 on the night. Kaufman then had nine kills and four aces as IVC swept Grossmont, 28-26, 25-21, 25-15 at home Friday. The two victories improved Irvine Valley's record to 9-3 overall and 3-1 in conference play.On the season, Kaufman is averaging 2.88 kills and 1.16 digs per set. He has four matches with at least 10 kills. The 18 Kaufman put up against Miramar was a season-high.

(Brent Shaver, CCCMVCA)