The result was a 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 29-27 victory for No. 10-ranked Golden West (9-2, 2-0 in conference), thanks largely to miscues made by OCC (7-1, 1-1).
“It was things we have been working on — the ball control; too many hitting errors; too many serving errors,” said Cutenese, whose team missed 15 serves, five more than Golden West. The Pirates also had 13 hitting errors and generally were less proficient than the visitors.
OCC, however, asserted control early, before dropping the next two games.
OCC forged a 23-17 lead in Game 4, but surrendered an 8-1 run that allowed Golden West to gain a 25-24 advantage. OCC tied it at 26 and 27, but consecutive kills by Alex Risko (who had seven of her 12 kills in the fourth game) and Shavanda Savage, helped the Rustlers close it out.
Sophomore Poe Gantt led the Pirates with 18 kills and added 14 digs. But the 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Hawaii also missed six serves and had six hitting errors.
“I’m completely disappointed in my team’s performance,” Cutenese said, “especially Game 4 ... We came out in Game 1 and played well. Then we got flat in Game 2 and flat in Game 3. You know, good teams don’t lose [after leading] 24-21. We lost our focus. People couldn’t put the ball away. We weren’t swinging to win, we were swinging not to lose.”
Sophomore middle blocker Briana Fields contributed 10 kills and only one hitting error. She also had two block assists to contribute to OCC’s five team blocks. She did have four service errors.
Fields, at 5-11, as well as sophomore opposite Karlee Skalla (six kills) are the tallest regulars for OCC, while Golden West has three six-footers in its starting lineup and no starter shorter than 5-10.
