Depleted Pirates are eliminated in four

COSTA MESA ? Orange Coast College men’s volleyball coach Chuck Cutenese said a revamped lineup was a cause for optimism heading into Tuesday’s Southern California Regional playoff match against Santa Monica.

Cutenese reasoned that some personnel changes would enhance the Pirates’ chances to avenge a four-game regular-season road loss to the Corsairs on March 8.

But, as has been the case all season, injury and illness prevented Cutenese from putting his best team on the court. The result was a 25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21 setback that ended Orange Coast’s season, as well as a 14-year tenure for Cutenese, who resigned to concentrate on coaching the women’s program next year.

OCC freshman setter Trevor Holmes, who missed the final seven regular-season matches with a broken hand, was cleared to set, but not block. Exercising caution, Cutenese kept Holmes on the bench.

OCC freshman outside hitter Napua Canda, who had been sick all week, was sluggish in warmups, prompting Cutenese to sit one of his leading hitters for all of the first game and most of the second.

The effects of Canda’s absence were magnified when he sparked a third-game victory, accounting for five of OCC’s final seven points to help avert a sweep.

“[Canda] has been out sick,” Cutenese said. “He tried to practice [Monday], but he only lasted about a half an hour. I decided I would see how he warmed up and he did not look good. But in Game 3, he really sparked us.”

Canda, who had posted just one kill ? midway through the second game ? to that point, injected life into the Pirates, who trailed, 23-18, in Game 3.

Canda managed back-to-back stuff blocks to pull the Pirates within 23-20.

Canda teamed with sophomore Scott Sankey on another block to pare the deficit to 23-22. Then, after a Santa Monica hitting error tied the score, he finished off the Corsairs with a pair of kills.

Canda remained hot, blasting five more kills in the fourth game to help the hosts forge a 10-5 lead. But he appeared to fade due to fatigue and the Corsairs rallied to close out the match.

“I think he ran out of gas,” Cutenese said of Canda, who led the Pirates with eight kills and three blocks.

Cutenese said not having Canda at full strength and not having Holmes at all was a continuation of an unprecedented lack of lineup stability for this year’s Pirates (12-10).

“I’ve been coaching for 20 years and I don’t think I’ve ever had a year when I had to use this many lineups,” Cutenese said. “I’d say I’ve had close to 20 different lineups, due to injuries and, sometimes, player performance. And I’m a guy who likes to find a set lineup and stick with it.”

Sankey and fellow sophomore Drew Ginther finished their OCC careers with six kills apiece.

Freshman Neil Bell also had six kills, while sophomore Alex Avestruz added five and freshman Brett Lessman contributed four. The Corsairs (11-6) had four players compile double-figure kills, led by 6-foot-5 David Adams with a match-high 15.

Santa Monica had a clear advantage at the net, and Cutenese pointed to a lack of consistent blocking, as well as defense, as contributing factors in the loss.

“I’ve been talking to this team all season long about ball control and eliminating unforced errors,” Cutenese said. “In Game 3, we were aggressive and we were digging balls all over the court. We were up, 14-9, in the fourth game, but we ran into a problem we’ve had all season ? closing.”

Cutenese said youth ? only three of their top players are sophomores ? and the aforementioned lineup fluctuation were the primary reasons the Pirates became more vulnerable the longer matches went on.

Cutenese choked back tears when discussing his final match as men’s coach.

“It’s not what I wanted, but sometimes you have to make tough decisions,” he said.