Welch leads OCC’s quest

The pressing news for Orange Coast College men’s volleyball coach Travis Turner is that his team is playing catchup with defending state champion and Pacific Coast Conference co-champion Irvine Valley College heading into the 2008 season.

The good news for the second-year Pirates head man, who was Coach of the Year in the conference after leading OCC to a 17-4 record and the state semifinals, is that his roster is focusing exclusively on volleyball.

“We’ve got a lot of talented athletes who played some other sports in high school,” said Turner, whose squad opened the 2008 season Friday night with a nonconference sweep at El Camino. “We’ve got guys who are real competitive and the effort is there. But we may be a little behind some other teams, because we have some guys who are learning how to play at a quicker pace.”

Tucker said IVC opens the season head-and-shoulders above the rest of the conference. But the longtime Balboa Bay Club coach also believes his team, along with Golden West, have the potential to battle for the No. 2 spot.

OCC’s co-title last season was its first conference crown since 2002.

“I just think our overall volleyball IQ is behind some teams right now,” Turner said. “We’re going to need to get some experience. But the thing I like is that the potential is there and the work ethic is there.”

Also there is returning first-team all-conference performer Kevin Welch, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter who is among the multi-sport athletes that dot the roster. Welch played football, basketball and volleyball at Corona del Mar High and he began his collegiate athletic career on a football scholarship at the University of Indiana.

Welch returned to volleyball last season and proceeded to pound 292 kills, which ranked second among conference hitters. With a future as a libero, Welch is being recruited by USC and Hawaii, Turner said.

Turner said Grant Keene, a former football standout at Tesoro High, is a 6-3 sophomore outside hitter with vast potential, while Cullan Maher, a member of Orange Lutheran’s CIF State championship football team in 2006, is a 6-4 opposite from whom big things are expected.

Corey Ferraro, a former basketball standout at Edison High, is a 5-11 freshman who is battling 6-4 freshman Doug Astor for the setting spot, Turner said.

Sophomore Jack Awerkamp, a 6-6 returner, is slated to join 6-6 freshman Mike Stewart as the starting middle blockers, while Tucker Alleborn, a 6-1 freshman out of Santa Margarita High, should contribute at opposite.

Turner is also bolstered by a strong staff, which includes returners Scott Panero and Matt Skolnik, as well as first-year additions Brian Thornton, a former UCI All-American who helped the Anteaters win the 2007 NCAA title, and former Pepperdine star Brad Keenan, currently sparkling on the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals beach tour.

“Brian is working with the setters and Keenan is working with the middles,” Turner said.

OCC opens conference play Feb. 29 against Palomar.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].