Community college men’s volleyball: Pirates have eight tabbed

All-OEC

Steve Virgen

Orange Coast College sophomores Soeren Schneider and Jeff Taylor,

who helped lead the Pirates to back-to-back Orange Empire Conference

titles, headline a cast of eight Bucs who have earned all-conference

honors this season. The Pirates’ coach, Chuck Cutenese, was named OEC

Coach of the Year.

Schneider, a 6-foot-6 outside hitter from Germany, and Taylor, a 6-3

outside hitter who will play for Cal State Northridge next year, share

the conference’s Most Valuable Player honor.

Freshman Zach Jardine and sophomore transfers Greg Ford and Scott

Winant earned first-team All-OEC laurels. Jardine, a 6-8 opposite from

Irvine High, along with Irvine Valley transfers Ford, a libero, and

Winant, the team’s starting setter, helped the Pirates to the school’s

first undefeated regular season, 21-0.

Ford will play for UC Irvine next year, while Winant is deciding

between UC Santa Barbara or the University of La Verne.

John Campbell, a 6-4 sophomore who will play for UC Santa Barbara next

year, and R.J. King, a 6-6 sophomore who will play for UCI next season,

earned second-team All-OEC.

Cutenese said Schneider will most likely play for Cal Baptist next

year. Cutenese, Schneider, Taylor, Campbell and King led the Pirates to a

45-3 record the past two years that has resulted into two OEC titles and

two state finals appearances.

This season, Coast did not lose a match until the state title contest,

when Taylor suffered an ankle injury and the Bucs lost in four games to

two-time champion Los Angeles Pierce.