Pirates crowned state champions

occ women’s volleyballOrange Coast women’s volleyball team wraps up undefeated season with the coveted California Community College title.FRESNO -- One day after losing its first game all season, the Orange Coast College women’s volleyball team more than made up for it.

The top-ranked Pirates, led by Kiwi Winkler’s match-high 20 kills, rolled to the California Community College championship with a 22-30, 30-19, 13-30, 30-22, 15-12 victory over second-ranked San Joaquin Delta on Sunday at Selland Arena.

“I really don’t feel like it’s sunk in yet,” said Coach Chuck Cutenese, who won his first state title in his 15th year at the helm. “When it happened, I was watching the play and we had the great rotation of Kiwi Winkler in the front row. I watched it happen and then I didn’t feel like it had actually happened. It was that surreal moment that everyone talks about.”

Winkler, named tournament Most Valuable Player, ended an unbeaten Coast season with a smash down the left side. Unbeaten in 72 games heading in to Saturday’s semifinal against the Mustangs (25-3), the Pirates (26-0) dropped one game, then dropped two of the first three on Sunday.

But Winkler made sure it wasn’t the match that was lost.

“I knew that last ball was going to come to me,” said Winkler, a first-team All-American and the Orange Empire Conference Player of the Year. “I think even the other team knew I was going to get the last ball.”

Winkler finished the two matches against the Mustangs with a combined 32 kills.

Faced with a deficit for the first time all season, the Pirates bounced back from a sluggish first frame to level the match with a 30-19 win.

Aabria Lipscomb continued her strong play during the last two days and had five kills and a block in the game.

Joanna Johnson added three kills and a block.

Lipscomb posted a season-high 15 kills and added four blocks in the match, while Samantha Connor added 10 kills. Joanna Johnson had nine and Brittany Ray had seven.

“That last point was the perfect exclamation point to our season,” said Cutenese, whose team turned in just the second unbeaten campaign in program history and breaks a string of 12 straight state titles by district-rival Golden West.