Lasers point at No. 1 after big weekend at Orange Coast
LONG BEACH, Calif. - With two big wins on Saturday in the Orange Coast College quad event, Irvine Valley moved into the top spot in week two of the California Community College Men’s Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll.
The Lasers swept previous No. 1 Long Beach City, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20 and then Santa Monica, 25-16, 25-11, 25-9, to improve their record to 3-0 overall. Santa Monica was ranked No. 5 last week.
In the win over Long Beach City, Irvine Valley was led by Brennan To, who had 13 kills and hit .667 and Ruben Lopez, who added 10 kills and six digs. Setter Austin McBain had 36 assists and three aces for IVC.
And Irvine Valley hit an impressive .520 in its win over Santa Monica with just seven errors in 50 attempts. Lopez hit .727 and had nine kills, three blocks and five aces and Matt August chipped in seven kills and eight blocks.
Irvine Valley plays four-year Division II school Concordia this Wednesday in its lone match of the week.Orange Coast stayed in the No. 2 spot for a second straight week.
The Pirates went to 2-1 with a split of matches in its own event. The Pirates lost to Santa Monica in four close sets and then topped Long Beach City in five sets (15-11 in the fifth).
Long Beach City, which slipped to No. 3 in the rankings this week, fell to IVC and Orange Coast and saw its record go to 2-2 overall. Santa Monica improved to 3-1 with its split in matches at the OCC quad. In the Corsairs victory over Orange Coast, Dane Pieper had 12 kills and Hunter Douglas provided 33 assists.
Golden West comes in at the No. 5 spot in the rankings with a 1-0 record. The Rustlers started the season with a sweep of Moorpark last Wednesday at home. Golden West plays host to No. 8 El Camino this Wednesday.
Another big match-up on Wednesday features No. 6 Fullerton hosting No. 7 LA Pierce.The full top 10 poll can be viewed below.
CCCMVCA State Top 10
1. Irvine Valley (3-0)
2. Orange Coast (2-1)
3. Long Beach City (2-2)
4. Santa Monica (3-1)
5. Golden West (1-0)
6. Fullerton (2-0)
7. LA Pierce (1-1)
8. El Camino (0-1)
9. Santa Barbara City (2-1)
10. Moorpark (0-1)
Others receiving votes: Grossmont, Miramar, San Diego Mesa