No. 2 Orange Coast tops Vaqueros in Regional opener, 3-1

Orange Coast dropped the first set on Friday night, then came alive to down SBCC 3-1 in a Southern Cal Regional men's volleyball opener at Costa Mesa. The scores were 23-25, 25-17, 25-10, 25-18.

Kyle Skinner, a 6-4 sophomore who's signed to play for Ohio State, led the Vaqueros with 17 kills and eight digs. Haward Gomes added 11 kills and eight digs. Adam Simonetti handed out 36 assists and Misaki Cramer had 13 digs. Blake Lockhart contributed eight kills and four blocks.

The No. 7 Vaqueros end the year at 12-6 after earning their first trip to the playoffs since 2011. The second-seeded Pirates won their 14th in a row to improve to 19-2.

"The guys played great and it's always tough to end a season early but when you look at what we did this year, it's hard to hang our heads," said second-year coach Jon Newton. "We made the playoffs for the first time in seven years and took a set off OCC in I don't know how long.

"I'm beyond proud of the guys and what they accomplished this season."