Bittersweet ending for OCC

Steve Virgen

A cruel coincidence plagued the Orange Coast College women’s

volleyball team during its sweep of Orange Empire Conference visitor

Cypress Wednesday night.

At the beginning of the season, OCC Coach Chuck Cutenese, in his

11th season, really didn’t know what to expect of his team. Now as

the regular season ended, a bit of the unexpected vibe returned, as

sophomore Marti Merriott injured her right ankle in the third game

and will not be able to play for the Pirates in the postseason.

The Pirates, who won, 30-27, 30-23, 30-19, will begin Southern

California regional play Tuesday.

Merriott, an outside hitter, was third on the team in kills with

132. In the third game with OCC leading, 13-12, Merriott appeared to

have landed on a Cypress player’s foot that was across the line under

the net. Merriott’s ankle rolled and she immediately cried out in

pain.

“Losing Marti is hard,” Cutenese said. “We’ve said we’re strong

and now we’ll see if we are.”

OCC (17-2, 12-2 in conference) showed its strength in defeating

the Chargers rather easily led by Christine Woller’s 22 kills. The

victory capped a season in which the Pirates earned a No. 2 ranking

in the state and finished second in its conference to Golden West.

“I’ll be honest, at the beginning of the year, I didn’t expect

this,” Cutenese said. “They really worked hard and they really came

together and things have smoothed out.”

While Cutenese was developing his team during this past off-season

he didn’t know what to expect because he had players with potential,

plus he did not have Woller on board. Woller, a UC Irvine transfer,

called Cutenese a week before the fall semester started and asked,

“Can I play volleyball there?”

Woller, a former Newport Harbor High standout, leads OCC in kills

with 146 and entered Tuesday’s match tied for first in the conference

in kills per game. She has also found a home with Pirates after

leaving the Anteaters.

“UCI wasn’t me,” Woller said with simplicity. “I decided to come

here. I’m having so much fun. If I could stay here for four years I

would. I love it.”

In addition to Woller, the Pirates have also had freshman Donka

Drozd contribute as a key player in their run to the Southern

California Regionals. Drozd has shown extreme improvement, Cutenese

said, while sophomore Amber McCarthy has been solid throughout the

season. Cutenese knew McCarthy was plenty capable of running his

offense.

McCarthy collected 41 assists, 11 digs and four aces against the

Chargers (11-7, 8-6). She entered the match, third in the state in

assists per game. Drozd recorded 10 kills, and freshman Brenda Bailey

added seven kills and four blocks. Merriott had seven kills and eight

digs.

“I think our chances our just as good as they ever been,” Cutenese

said.