Orange Coast, Golden West and San Diego Mesa sit in top three spots in CCCMVCA poll
IRVINE - There were some slight changes in the third California Community College Men’s Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll of the 2024 season.
The top five teams remained the same and no one made a move on undefeated Orange Coast at the top of the poll. The Pirates remained No. 1 for the third week in a row and garnered every first place vote.
Orange Coast (8-0) overall swept Miramar, 25-22, 25-13, 25-15, on the road in its lone contest last week. Cole Hauser led the way with 12 kills and seven digs. He also hit .611 on the night. The Pirates hit an impressive .391 as a team. Landon Seymour finished with 20 assists and Jacob Bayston also had seven digs. OCC is averaging 12.80 kills per set and hitting a combined .357 as a squad.
Golden West and San Diego Mesa flip-flopped at No. 2 and No. 3 and Irvine Valley and Moorpark changed spots at No. 3 and No. 4 in this week’s poll.
Golden West moved back into the second position after a four-set win at San Diego Mesa last Wednesday and then another four-set victory at Miramar on Friday. Mesa bounced back from its defeat to Golden West with a sweep over Santiago Canyon on the road Friday. The Olympians won, 25-21, 25-12, 25-20 behind 10 kills by Trevor Clark, 20 assists by Colton Pillsbury and 15 assists by Logan Shepard. Irvine Valley swept Grossmont and Palomar last week and then defeated Miramar Monday, 3-2, in a make-up match at IVC. The Lasers hit .313 in the contest and got 14 kills and 27 assists from Grant Dvorak, 13 kills from Damon Kooiman and 11 kills from Matt Reid in the win. It was Irvine Valley’s fourth victory in a row.
Moorpark dropped a spot after tough five-set losses to Santa Monica and Long Beach City last week. The Raiders fell, 15-11, in the fifth at Long Beach Friday. Jacob Knudsen had 16 kills and Merit Ghoadrat added 43 assists for Moorpark.
Santa Monica, Long Beach City, Santa Barbara City, Grossmont and Miramar.
Long Beach made a big jump from 10th to No. 6 this week after sweeping Santa Barbara City and defeating Moorpark in five sets last week in the first two matches of Western State Conference play. Both Santa Monica and Long Beach City are 2-0 so far to lead the WSC. Key matches this week include No. 9 Grossmont at No. 1 Orange Coast, No. 7 Long Beach at No. 6 Santa Monica, No. 3 San Diego Mesa at No. 4 Irvine Valley on Wednesday and No. 8 Santa Barbara at El Camino and No. 9 Grossmont at No. 10 Miramar on Friday.
| CCCMVCA STATE POLL (Mar. 5) | |||
| Rk. | School | Rec. | LW |
| 1. | Orange Coast | 8-0 | 1 |
| 2. | Golden West | 10-1 | 3 |
| 3. | San Diego Mesa | 10-3 | 2 |
| 4. | Irvine Valley | 6-2 | 5 |
| 5. | Moorpark | 4-4 | 4 |
| 6. | Santa Monica | 5-4 | 7 |
| 7. | Long Beach City | 3-5 | 10 |
| 8. | Santa Barbara City | 2-5 | 6 |
| 9. | Grossmont | 5-4 | 8 |
| 10. | San Diego Miramar | 4-4 | 9 |
| Others: El Camino (3-5) | |||
CCCMVCA Highlighted Student-Athlete: Jason Wallmer (Setter, Fr., Santa Monica)
Jason Walmer, a 5-8 setter from Mira Costa High, has helped lead Santa Monica to a 5-4 record overall on the year and a ranking in the top six for most of the season. Walmer led the Corsairs to a pair of five-set wins last week on the road as Santa Monica defeated Moorpark on Wednesday and Santa Barbara City on Friday. Santa Monica won both contests, 15-13, in the fifth set. Walmer finished with 47 assists, 20 digs and five blocks in the victory over Moorpark and then followed up with another 47 assists four aces and 12 digs in the Corsairs’ win over Santa Barbara. On the season, he ranks second in the state in assists at 9.44 per set. And Santa Monica is fifth in the state in kills per set at 11.06.
