Pirates start strong, roll past Tigers

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's volleyball team returned to the win column on Friday night with a three-set win over visiting Riverside City College.

After a tough four-set loss at Golden West on Wednesday night, the Pirates came out strong and despite a late charge by the Tigers, the hosts were able to sweep away their guests in three straight, 25-13, 25-19, 30-28.

Lehua Alama-Jordan led the Pirates (10-1, 4-1 in Orange Empire Conference) with 13 kills, whileSierra Brown added 12 and Danyelle Brown chipped in 11.

On defense, Carina Perez was came up with 15 digs, while Danyelle Brown came up with nine. Setter Danielle Boyette dished out 24 assists.

For the Tigers (5-9, 2-3 in OEC), Naomi Tilford led the offense with 10 kills.

Coast came out aggressive and led all the way through the opening set. After a Tiger run cut the lead down to two at 12-10, the Pirates turned up the jets and outscored RCC 13-3 the rest of the way.

Riverside held an early 4-2 lead in the second set before Alama-Jordan used five kills to spark a 10-1 run, putting Coast ahead for good.

Riverside, trailing by as many as 10, showed a ton of heart and used a 9-1 run of its own to get to within a pair at 19-17 before three kills by Sierra Brown helped close things out.

In the third set, Coast was comfortably ahead, 23-17 before four unforced errors by the Pirates helped spark a 6-0 run, tying the set at 23.

The Tigers fought off one match point and actually three straight set points eliminated by the Pirates as both teams traded blows.

Finally, with the set tied at 28. A long serve by the Tigers and an Alama-Jordan kill ended the night for the Tigers and gave the Pirates the victory.

Coast will return to action on Wednesday at home against first-place Irvine Valley College, beginning at 6 p.m.