It doesn’t matter if you are injured, tired or trailing by 100 points. You never give up, you play with all the effort in your body and, most importantly, don’t let the rival embarrass you.
Ever.
But for the Orange Coast College women’s volleyball team, the lady Pirates did get embarrassed, badly, at home, to cross-town rivals Golden West College and I wondered how it’ll affect the team going forward.
Coast had a 23-17 lead in the fourth set and needed only two more points to win, but the lady Pirates let the Rustlers go on an 8-1 run and lost its first match of the season on Oct. 7.
Coast came into that match not even losing a single set for the season. But after losing its first set, the lady Pirates folded like a lawn chair and choked against its toughest opponent this season.
“I’m completely disappointed in my team’s performance, especially in game four.” Coast head coach Chuck Cutenese said back in Oct. 7 when his team lost 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 29-27. “We came out in game one and played well, then we got flat in game two and flat in game three. 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.”
This was the turning point in Coast’s season. If the women fail to bounce back from this embarrassing loss, then the No. 3 ranked lady Pirates might throw away a potential state championship-winning team.
In that match, many of the fans were even pro-Rustlers. OCC fans were outnumbered in a good five-to-one ratio.
Coast libero Nikki Osuna (bottom) said “It didn’t even seem like our own gym” and outside hitter Rachel Freeno (top) said "We're a lot better than we played - a whole lot better. And we'll get them next time in their gym."
There’s something to be said about getting embarrassed – not lose but completely get pummeled by a rival – because the lady Pirates bounced back strong since then.
Since Oct. 7, Coast has won its last seven matches – three sweeps and three hard-fought five-set matches – and moved back up to No. 5 in the state rankings.
But most importantly, Freeno was right. The lady Pirates did get Golden West Friday (Oct. 30) by sweeping the No. 11 ranked Rustlers 25‐16, 25‐15, 25‐20.
What didn’t kill the lady Pirates made them stronger. If Coast makes it to the state championship, it’ll be because of how the team bounced back from that embarrassing loss to a rival.
EDIT
The lady Pirates' winning streak came to a halt Wednesday (Nov. 4) when the seventh-ranked Cypress College defeated Coast in five sets 25-13, 22-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-13.
I guess I jinxed it huh?
To read that game summary written by OCC's Sports Information Director Tony Altobelli, click here.
[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
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