Coast, Pierce clash yet again

Bryce Alderton

Another year and once again Orange Coast College and L.A. Pierce meet

in the state community college men’s volleyball playoffs. This year

it’s a state semifinal today at 5:30 p.m. at Long Beach City College.

To say Coast (17-6, 11-5 in the Orange Empire Conference) and

Pierce have had a rivalry for nearly the past decade would be putting

it mildly. The Pirates, runners-up in the OEC to Golden West this

season, and the Brahmas have developed a competitive entity the likes

of the Dodgers and Giants in baseball or the Raiders and Chiefs in

football.

“Golden West has always been our crosstown rival because the

schools are so close, but there is definitely a rivalry with L.A.

Pierce, especially in the last five years,” OCC Coach Chuck Cutenese

said. “We get to see them only once a year until the playoffs, so

that also creates more of a rivalry.”

The Brahmas defeated Coast in each of the last two state title

matches and in the Southern California Regional Playoffs in 1999.But

which school did Coast beat for its last state championship in 1994?

Pierce.

Pierce, champion of the Western States Conference with a 13-2

mark, has been the Pirates’ nemesis for several years. Coast beat the

Brahmas in a regular-season match in five games in February, getting

a match-high 23 kills from freshman outside hitter Kaimana Kamalani.

Poyer Poia, Coast’s kill leader, has spent the last month battling

tendinitis in his knees while still recovering from a sprained ankle.

Coast, the OEC’s No. 2 seed, will try to focus on keeping L.A.

Pierce off-balance on serves, something Cutenese said it did in the

match earlier this season.

“If we don’t serve aggressively, they have the option of running

their offense,” he said. “They do a good job of spreading the ball

around.

“Both teams are different than earlier this season. They are

ranked No. 1 going into the state tournament, so I feel like the

pressure is on them, not us.”

Cutenese doesn’t have to remind his players of the importance of

playing L.A. Pierce.

“That’s the most I’ve seen my team up for a match all year,”

Cutenese said about the match earlier this season. “It was a reminder

of what happened last year.”