COASTERS: Bucs streaking; coach leaving

Steve Virgen

As one team rides the lightning of a hot winning streak another

squad prepares to start anew.

The men’s volleyball and basketball teams at Orange Coast College are

on different roads at this time of the year.

Coach Chuck Cutenese’s men’s volleyball team is on fire. The Pirates

are on a ten-game winning streak.

Perhaps the Bucs’ biggest victory came Friday night when defending

Orange Empire Conference champion Grossmont becamse OCC’s latest victim.

The Bucs have also taken care of rival Golden West and five days

before that huge victory, OCC also picked up a big win over Irvine

Valley.

Coast (10-0, 5-0 in conference) is now the team to beat in the OEC.

The Bucs’ tenacity could lead to an OEC title and the state championship

is definitely within reach.

But, three sophomores, outside hitter B.J. Lightvoet, a Costa Mesa

High product, setter Nick Ptaschinski and libero Ed Chun, will make sure

OCC will not get cocky.

Also, so long as the in-team competition remains healthy, the Bucs

will be ready come what may.

Cutenese said the key to OCC’s success has been the competing for

starting spots among the freshman and sophomores.

Because Morgan Jackson, a product of Corona del Mar High, had been

challenging for a spot he was ready when starters, Jeff Taylor, Ryan

Owens and Dave Engle were out with injuries at Grossmont. Sophomore Kevin

Goff was ready as well.The 5-foot-4 Chun, who has a comical personality

of gigantic proportions, has been a big reason for the Bucs’ success.

He finished with a career-high 17 digs against Irvine Valley. He had

16 against Golden West and 13 at Grossmont. Chun now has 76 digs this

season and is on pace to climb Coast’s career and single-season charts.

“He’s our spark plug on our team,” Cutenese said.

Freshmen Jeff Taylor and Soren Schneider have added more hope for this

year, and next year.

Meanwhile, the men’s hoops team received word that its coach, Mark

Hill, would definitely not return next season.

He said the OCC job would not pay him enough money. He makes more

money teaching at Esperanza High and will remain there.

Hill said he is not sure if he will go back into coaching. But, after

talking with the strong-willed coach, you get the idea he still has many

years of scouting and recruiting left in him.

He said he would have put his name in the hat for the OCC job if the

pay matched his salary at Esperanza.

The break-up of Hill and the Bucs went peacefully, but the status of

assistant coach Nate Harrison could be disastrous.

Harrison, who played under Hill at Esperanza, is in limbo as OCC will

now interview those who applied for the position.

Call it a hunch, but I’m thinking the Bucs’ new coach will be among

the best, if not the best, of the OEC, perhaps even the state. Rumors

have been circulating over the past month of over 100 people inquiring

about the job, including Division I assistants.

Maybe he’ll even have the smarts to keep Harrison on staff.

The position is now a full-time faculty slot and if that’s not

appealing enough, waiting on the team is 6-foot-3 guard Andre Hamlin who

has the ups that would send your jaw to the floor and make you say,

“Damn!”