The third time wasn't the charm for the Irvine Valley men's volleyball team against Orange Coast this season.
The second-seeded Pirates defeated third-seeded IVC, 25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20, in a California Community College Athletic Association State Championship semifinal match on Thursday night at Fullerton College.
OCC will take on No. 4 Pierce in the championship match on Saturday night. Pierce was an upset winner over top-ranked Long Beach City in the other semifinal on Thursday.
Orange Coast defeated IVC all three times the teams met this season.
Irvine Valley ended its season with a record of 16-6 overall.
OCC, the 2017 defending state champions, played very well as a team with a strong attack to grab the win.
Kyle McCauley had a big night with 21 kills with eight digs to lead the team. Bradley Hankus chipped in with 11 kills, while Wyatt Henderson and Clark Steel had nine each. Will Donald added eight kills, and Colby Elder came through with 41 assists.
Irvine Valley's successful season came to an end on Thursday. Sophomore outside hitter Patrick Furlong led the team with 13 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Matt August had 12 kills and six blocks and sophomore setter Austin McBain finished with 29 assists.
The first set was tied at 15, but a 6-0 run by the Pirates was the difference in the set.
IVC came out strong in the second set and grabbed the early lead. That set was tied, 18-18, when Irvine Valley used a 3-0 run to take control.
But Irvine Valley couldn't use the momentum from the set win to its advantage. Orange Coast jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third set and never looked back.
Orange Coast led by as many as 10 points (23-13) before closing out the set.
In the fourth set, the Lasers used one final strong push to try and force a fifth set. The Lasers took a 13-12 lead, but the Pirates would not be denied, ripping off an 8-2 run to grab the lead away from IVC.
It was a lead the Pirates wouldn't give up the rest of the night.
