Golden West Hangs On to Win Volleyball Title

Golden West won its second consecutive state community college men’s volleyball championship Saturday, as the Rustlers defeated Orange Coast, 16-14, 15-9, 10-15, 5-15, 15-8, at American River College in Sacramento.

Golden West took a two-game lead before Orange Coast (20-2) rallied in the third and fourth games to tie the match, 2-2. In the final game, the Rustlers took an early 9-3 lead and cruised to the title.

“Our guys played with tremendous character and hung in there until the end,” first-year Golden West Coach Mike D’Alessandro said. “Orange Coast played really well in the third and fourth games, but we saved our best game of the year for last.”

That was true in more ways than one. The Rustlers lost twice during the Orange Empire Conference season to Orange Coast, including a three-game Pirate sweep in Costa Mesa last week. Golden West’s only other loss was to Long Beach City, but the Rustlers avenged that defeat with a three-game sweep of the Vikings in Friday’s semifinals.

Jeff Carlucci, most valuable player of the tournament, and Curtis Jackson each had 31 kills for Golden West (19-3). Jackson was named to the all-tournament team for Golden West, along with outside hitter Ryan Woods and setter Greg Logan. Kevin Reid had 29 kills for Orange Coast, Mike Pixler added 27 and setter Matt Wright had 80 assists.

In the Orange Empire Conference women’s swimming championships:

Saddleback wins--Lisa Henningsen set a conference record in the 100 backstroke, winning the race in one minute flat, to lead Saddleback, the top finisher with 709.50 points.

Henningsen shaved more than a second off the previous record of 1:01.17 set by Heather Burton last year. Orange Coast’s Rori Rangel took second, finishing behind Henningsen in 1:00.99. The Pirates finished second in the meet with 656 points. Palomar finished third with 438.

In the South Coast Conference men’s swimming championships:

Golden West dominates--Scott Wester led Golden West, breaking the conference record in the men’s 100-meter freestyle, winning the event in 45.86. The previous record was set by Ernie Lee in 1991 at 46.37. Wester also took first in the 50 freestyle in 20.94.

Golden West easily outdistanced the field, winning the title with 1,026 points. Long Beach took second with 471 and Mt. San Antonio was third with 436.