Irvine Valley’s athlete of the week for Nov. 11 is sophomore women’s volleyball player Anna Unke.
IVC’s libero and digs leader had two solid matches last week to help the Lasers, who are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state, clinch their third Orange Empire Conference title in a row.
Unke finished with 18 digs, which tied a season high and four aces, which was a season best, in Irvine Valley’s ???? sweep of Riverside at home on Wednesday.
She then contributed 13 digs and one ace as Irvine Valley went on the road and defeated Orange Coast, 25-15, 26-24, 25-18, on Friday.
The victory on Friday wrapped up the conference title for IVC with three matches still to play in the regular season.
The two wins last week improved Irvine Valley’s record to 20-0 overall and 13-0 in conference. The Lasers have also won 38 sets in a row.
Unke has recorded double-digit digs in eight of the last nine matches and has 13 matches with at least 10 kills on the season.
Unke is averaging 3.37 digs per set on the year, which ranks second on the team. She also has 18 aces.
She was a key contributor last season for the Lasers as a defensive specialist. Unke averaged 1.48 digs per set to help Irvine Valley go 21-2 overall, win a conference title and reach the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship event in Solano.
And Unke has also been a star on the sand for the Lasers.
This past spring, she made the state event as part of the IVC women’s beach volleyball team. The squad was named Irvine Valley's team of the year as part of the athletic department's 19th Annual Awards.
The Lasers finished tied for third at the CCAA State Championship in May, went 15-1 against community college opponents on the year and won the Orange Empire Conference with a record of 10-0.
The former Crean Lutheran High standout also made the state event as a pairs team with teammate Gabriela Griego. The duo won its pool and made the second day of the event in Chula Vista.