Not much movement in volleyball poll but showdown awaits
IRVINE, Calif. - There was a little shake up near the top of the California Community College Men’s Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll for week eight.
Irvine Valley and Orange Coast remain in the top two spots ahead of their showdown on Friday night at IVC.
Irvine Valley, which beat El Camino in four sets last Wednesday and swept Santiago Canyon to open Orange Empire Conference play last Friday, received 12 of 13 first-place votes. Matt August had a huge week for the Lasers with 19 kills against El Camino and 20 kills against Santiago Canyon.
Orange Coast received the other first-place vote this week and every other second-place vote among coaches. OCC beat Golden West, 14-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-23, behind 13 kills from Justin Kam to open OEC play last Wednesday.
But Long Beach City pushed past Santa Monica and back into the top three in the voting with its big win over Santa Monica last Friday night. The Vikings came out on top, 21-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-10 at Santa Monica. Cyrus Fa’alogo was the star, going for 23 kills and nine digs and hitting .372 in the match. Noah Taitano also had 10 kills and hit .600 for LBCC. The Vikings hit .356 in the contest, while Santa Monica hit just .089 as a team.
Santa Monica dropped to No. 4 in this week’s poll. Other risers included Pierce, which moved from sixth to fifth after winning two matches last week and Fullerton, which went from eighth to sixth after sweeping Golden West, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22, last Friday.
The Hornets, who are 2-0 in the Orange Empire Conference, got 17 big kills from Manny Andrade in their win over the Rustlers.
The full top 10 poll can be viewed below.
CCCMVCA State Top 10
1. Irvine Valley (10-1)
2. Orange Coast (11-1)
3. Long Beach City (10-3)
4. Santa Monica (11-2)
5. LA Pierce (9-4)
6. Fullerton (10-4)
7. El Camino (6-5)
8. Golden West (6-4)
9. Miramar (7-4)
10. Moorpark (4-9)
Others receiving votes: Grossmont, San Diego Mesa, Santa Barbara City