Irvine Valley women's beach volleyball pair of sophomore Lucee Fitzgerald and freshman Taira Ka'awaloa were named first team all-Orange Empire Conference last week.
The duo played No. 1 for the Lasers all season and reached the OEC Championship Final before losing to Riverside's Marissa Vialpando and Lauren Wells in a tough final at the Newland Street Courts in Huntington Beach.
Irvine Valley had two other teams earn second team recognition. They were the teams of sophomore Alissa Blevins and freshman Ally Sassman and sophomore Brittany Tuliau and freshman Jacqueline Millerd.
Irvine Valley ended up finishing tied for fourth in the final conference standings with a record of 4-3.
Vialpando and Wells were named the most valuable players of the OEC after capturing the conference's pairs title.
The duo also helped RCC finish third in the conference standings and make the regional playoffs. The top three teams from the conference - Cypress, Golden West and Riverside - moved on.
Nancy Welliver of Cypress and Bill Lawler of Golden West were named the conference's co-coaches of the year after the Chargers and Rustlers shared the conference title.
Each team finished with a record of 6-1. Golden West knocked off Cypress in one of the final matches of the regular season to earn a share of the title.
Golden West had two teams named to the conference first team. The pairs of Jasmine Gonzalez and Kate Stanjevich and Baileigh Graham and Amanda Sosa earned honors.
Also earning all-conference honors were the Cypress pair of Paulina Akiona and Rockelle Gholson, IVC's pair of Ka'awaloa and Fitzgerald, the Fullerton duo of Leslie Andros and Charity Dennis and the Santa Ana pair of Viridiana Serrano and Mikelle Taylor.
2017 Orange Empire Conference Women's Beach Volleyball Awards
MVP Team
Marissa Vialpando/Lauren Wells - Riverside
Co-Coaches of the Year
Nancy Welliver - Cypress
Bill Lawler - Golden West
1st Team all-OEC
Paulina Akiona/Rockelle Gholson - Cypress
Leslie Andros/Charity Dennis - Fullerton
Lucee Fitzgerald/Taira Ka'awaloa - Irvine Valley
Jadelyn Forgiarini/Megan Ritchie - Orange Coast
Jasmine Gonzalez/Kate Stanjevich - Golden West
Baileigh Graham/Amanda Sosa - Golden West
Viridiana Serrano/Mikelle Taylor - Santa Ana
Second Team all-OEC
Ashleigh Atsaros/Erica Cantley - Golden West
Alissa Blevins/ Ally Sassman - Irvine Valley
Paige Buchanan/Samantha Madrid - Cypress
Brianna Johnson/Emily Witz - Cypress
Sierra Lim/Measha Lindstrand - Orange Coast
Jacqueline Millerd/Brittany Tuliau - Irvine Valley
Kassandra Murillo/Haylie Slater - Santa Ana
Huafa Saulala/Marcella Rodriquez - Riverside