OCC own worst enemy

COSTA MESA — Even competing against one’s biggest rival, sometimes the most dangerous adversary isn’t on the other side of the net.

Orange Coast College women’s volleyball coach Chuck Cutenese suggested this was the case for the Pirates, who came into Wednesday’s Orange Empire Conference match with rival Golden West with an unbeaten record and ranked No. 3 in the state.

But having played no one in the top 25 its first seven matches, OCC was clearly not used to the pressurized atmosphere created by the importance of the match, as well as a raucous crowd consisting of dozens of Rustlers rooters.

The result was a 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 29-27 victory for No. 10-ranked Golden West (9-2, 2-0 in conference), thanks largely to miscues made by OCC (7-1, 1-1).

“It was things we have been working on — the ball control; too many hitting errors; too many serving errors,” said Cutenese, whose team missed 15 serves, five more than Golden West. The Pirates also had 13 hitting errors and generally were less proficient than the visitors.

OCC, however, asserted control early, before dropping the next two games.

OCC forged a 23-17 lead in Game 4, but surrendered an 8-1 run that allowed Golden West to gain a 25-24 advantage. OCC tied it at 26 and 27, but consecutive kills by Alex Risko (who had seven of her 12 kills in the fourth game) and Shavanda Savage, helped the Rustlers close it out.

Sophomore Poe Gantt led the Pirates with 18 kills and added 14 digs. But the 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Hawaii also missed six serves and had six hitting errors.

“I’m completely disappointed in my team’s performance,” Cutenese said, “especially Game 4 ... We came out in Game 1 and played well. Then we got flat in Game 2 and flat in Game 3. You know, good teams don’t lose [after leading] 24-21. We lost our focus. People couldn’t put the ball away. We weren’t swinging to win, we were swinging not to lose.”

Sophomore middle blocker Briana Fields contributed 10 kills and only one hitting error. She also had two block assists to contribute to OCC’s five team blocks. She did have four service errors.

Fields, at 5-11, as well as sophomore opposite Karlee Skalla (six kills) are the tallest regulars for OCC, while Golden West has three six-footers in its starting lineup and no starter shorter than 5-10.

The Rustlers compiled 12 team blocks, including six total blocks by 5-11 freshman middle Kattie Givens.

Size, however, was not the difference, Cutenese said.

“Their size wasn’t a factor, because it wasn’t their size that killed us,” Cutenese said. “We had opportunities. We had too many serving errors and our hitting errors weren’t when the ball was on the net.

“We just didn’t execute and Golden West hung in there ... [the Rustlers] just continued to fight and we didn’t.”

The Rustlers’ resolve at crunch time might have been due to a more difficult schedule. Golden West’s two losses have come to No. 5-ranked Moorpark and No. 9-ranked Santa Barbara.

“It could have gone either way,” first-year Golden West Coach Bill Lawler said. “We just made a couple good plays when it counted. [The Pirates] could have won Game 4, but I don’t know. I’m just proud of the way my girls played. I don’t want to speak for Orange Coast, but I thought my girls held up pretty well and handled the pressure. It was a tough situation.”

OCC sophomore Rachel Freeno, recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum on her hitting shoulder, made her season debut and had four kills and 15 digs. She did not play the fourth game.

“She’s probably at about 75% or 80%,” Cutenese said. “She’s been practicing with us, but she hadn’t been hitting.”