Orange Coast punishes Santa Barbara in three

Behind 16 kills from sophomore opposite Kyle Martin and 15 kills from

Poyer Poia, the Orange Coast College men’s volleyball team rolled to

a 30-28, 32-30, 36-34 victory over visiting Santa Barbara Friday

night.

Coast improves to 9-1, 6-0 in the Orange Empire Conference, even

though Santa Barbara is in the Western States Conference.

Friday’s match was considered “interconference,” counting on both

OCC’s and Santa Barbara’s conference records, said Coast Coach Chuck

Cutenese. With schools dropping volleyball programs, Cutenese said

the matches are necessary to keep leagues at a “strong level.”

Santa Barbara led, 29-27, in Game 3 before OCC came back to win by

two points. The Pirates had six match points in the final game.

Levi Luster had eight blocks to lead Coast while Paul Pomroy

collected six digs to down Santa Barbara (6-3,4-2 in the Western

States). Mike Murphy led Coast with 44 assists.

“It was good sideout volleyball,” Cutenese said. “I thought we

were real disciplined at the end and as a coaching staff, we were

very pleased.”

Orange Coast begins OEC play Wednesday, hosting longtime rival

Golden West at 3 p.m.