Lasers chomp Pirates

COSTA MESA — The Irvine Valley College men’s volleyball team took a bite out of Pacific Coast Conference rival Orange Coast Wednesday night. But not before — and Lasers coaches said afterward, perhaps not unless — 5-foot-9 freshman outside hitter Brandon Directo took a bite out of the host Pirates’ floor while diving for a ball beyond the end line near the end of OCC’s Game 2 victory that put them on the verge of a sweep.

Instead, IVC, which had earlier drawn motivation from freshman middle blocker Corey Brophy quickly returning to the match after dislocating his left pinkie finger, seemed to respond when Directo, whose post-match grin revealed a vacant arch in his two chipped front teeth, shook off the injury and returned quickly to the court.

The result was a 22-30, 29-31, 30-22, 36-34, 15-13 IVC victory in a rematch of last year’s state title match, also won by the Lasers.

“Brandon sent a message, not only to the other team, but to his teammates,” said IVC Assistant Coach Jay Hosack, who, per Head Coach Tom Pestolesi’s preference, fielded questions from reporters after the match. “[The message was:] ‘Hey, if I’m willing to sacrifice, now it’s your turn.’ And they answered.”

Directo, who searched for his teeth fragments on his hands and knees for a few minutes after face-planting on the court, missed the final two points of the second game and the first point of Game 3. But his return obviously inspired the visitors.

“I think Brandon chipping his teeth was the key,” Hosack said. “Some guys play better [with a chip on their shoulder] and we have a few guys like that. For some reason, we’re really good at coming from behind.”

“I found about half a tooth,” said Directo, whose 43-inch vertical jump helped him record a team-high 23 kills. “I don’t know what happened to the other tooth. I dived for a ball and my jersey grabbed instead of sliding, so I face-planted, pretty much. I was just going after the ball and that’s all.”

Directo said there was never a question about returning to the court.

“I just wanted to help my team and I wanted my team to win,” he said. “I knew my team needed me, so I was like ‘Suck it up and let’s just keep on going.’

“My teammate [Brophy, who redshirted at OCC last season] dislocated his finger and he came back in. So why should I be any different? He showed some courage, so I’ll do it too.

“I’m not worried about [lining up some dental repair] now. I’m just happy that we won.”

IVC overcame a 6-0 deficit and, later, three match points, in Game 4, then did not trail in the final set, though OCC pulled even twice at 6-6 and 12-12.

It was the second straight come-from-behind conference win for IVC (5-3, 2-0 in conference), which rallied from a 2-1 set deficit (and a 30-15 Game 3 win by Golden West) to open conference play with a five-game triumph Friday.

“I think we’re kind of taking on a moniker, now, of Rocky Balboa,” Hosack said. We get our lunch handed to us the first couple games of our last two matches. Then, all of a sudden, we get mad and start to make something happen.”

Orange Coast Coach Travis Turner said it was clear what happened to his Pirates (5-3, 1-1).

“[The Lasers] played harder than us and tougher than us and that’s not a good combination when you’re on the other side of the net,” Turner said. “I thought we competed well in the first two games. But being up, 6-0, in the third ... With this group, that’s when I knew we were in trouble. The worst thing for us is to be up, 6-0.”

OCC fought off three set points before IVC forced a deciding fifth set.

Sophomore outside hitter Jake Melone led OCC with 25 kills, while freshman outside hitter Alex Reis added 23. Sophomore opposite Cullen Maher (16 kills) and freshman middle blocker Mike Stewart (11) also helped sophomore setter Doug Astor amass 68 assists.

“I think we can,” Turner said when asked if his team could take something from the loss. “We just have to get tougher.”

Directo said his entire team continues to prove its toughness.

“[The Pirates] beat us up pretty good the first two games and everything was looking bad,” Directo said. “Then we started getting injured and fighting back. We showed we have more than just skill we can rely on. We have heart, too.”

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].