Costa Mesa, Calif. – In a battle of top-ranked teams, the #3 Golden West College Rustlers secured a thrilling 3-2 (27-25, 25-17, 22-25, 19-25, 15-10) road victory over the #1 Orange Coast College Pirates on Wednesday night. With the win, Golden West improved to 14-1 overall and 6-1 in league play, moving into a tie with Orange Coast at the top of the standings.

Golden West set the tone early, taking a tightly contested first set 27-25 behind strong play from Aidan Powell (17 kills, .214 hitting percentage) and Kai Rodriguez (14 kills, 4 digs). The Rustlers then dominated the second set 25-17, hitting an impressive .379 while limiting the Pirates to just a .136 attack percentage.

Orange Coast, refusing to go down easily, responded with back-to-back set wins. The Pirates took the third set 25-22, led by Andrew Kargas (13 kills, .333 hitting percentage) and Kam Vakilian (12 kills, 7 blocks). Golden West struggled offensively in the fourth set, hitting just .056, allowing the Pirates to force a decisive fifth set with a 25-19 win.

With momentum swinging toward Orange Coast, Golden West regrouped and delivered in the clutch. The Rustlers jumped out to an early lead in the final frame and never looked back, sealing the victory with a 15-10 fifth-set win. Owen Banner came through with 8 kills and 2 aces, while the Rustlers' defense held the Pirates to a .111 hitting percentage in the final set.