STATE CHAMPIONS:OCC captures state title again

FRESNO — Chuck Cutenese, the Orange Coast College women’s volleyball coach, took one look at his sophomores, and the results they have produced, and had to give them a nickname. He calls them, “The Magnificent Seven.”

The OCC sophomores lived up to their nickname and capped a two-year magnificent run with a second straight state championship on Sunday at Fresno Pacific University. The Pirates defeated Los Angeles Pierce, 30-24, 30-21, 30-19, at the California Community Colleges Commission on Athletics State Championship.

It is the first time OCC has won consecutive titles in women’s volleyball, as the Pirates (25-2) captured their sixth state volleyball crown and 86th state championship in all sports.

Kiwi Winkler, a sophomore, became a two-time MVP of the state championships after a 16-kill, eight-dig performance. Ashlee Moon, Joanna Johnson, Jennifer Chiffer, Angela Roberts, Kissa Kent and Eva Johnson were also sophomores who finished with a career mark of 51-2, that included two Orange Empire Conference titles and two state crowns. The Pirates won eight straight in the state tournament over the past two years.

“I’ve nicknamed them the Magnificent Seven for the type of hard work, effort and dedication they’ve given me and the school the past two years,” Cutenese said in a press release. “To do what they’ve done the past two years, winning back-to-back state titles, they’ve left a legacy with this program that will never be forgotten.”

Orange Coast’s victory wasn’t only about its sophomores. The freshmen were key figures as well. Outside hitter Jacqi Reed recorded a match-high 17 kills to go with 11 digs and setter Chelsea Spadaro amassed 36 assists.

“It came down to heart and we knew as a team what it was going to take for us to reach this level,” Reed said. “As a team, we all meshed well and we all believed that we could do it.”

The Brahmas (27-5) could hardly hang with the Pirates, as L.A. Pierce had to endure a five-game match against Sacramento City on Sunday morning.

OCC, which won once on Friday and twice Saturday, awaited the Brahmas on Sunday, when the Pirates were rested and ready to make history.

“We were trying to do the nearly impossible against a great team like Coast,” Pierce Coach Nabil Mardini said.

Though OCC completed the feat, some of the sophomores were sad to say good-bye to the program.

“When I hit that last shot, I thought to myself, ‘it’s over,’ and for a second, I was sad,” said Winkler, who spiked the Pirates’ final kill in the third game. “Our team has improved so much throughout this season. Our blocking has been outstanding, especially late in the season.”

The Pirates showed that improvement in the tournament, especially Saturday and Sunday. They edged San Joaquin Delta on Saturday morning with a 30-21, 25-30, 24-30, 36-34, 15-8 win. Then they got past Sacramento City, 30-22, 31-29, 23-30, 30-15.

Orange Coast opened the tournament by beating Shasta, 30-13, 30-20, 28-30, 30-20 on Friday.

“A big sigh of relief for us,” Cutenese said. “It all started with our sophomore leadership and as the season went on, our freshmen stepped up and made some tremendous contributions.”