Irvine Valley's women's beach volleyball team plays in a California Community College Athletic Association Southern California Regional Tuesday at the Newland Courts in Huntington Beach, taking on host Orange Coast and Rio Hondo.
The Lasers, seeded ninth, play No. 3 OCC at 10 a.m. IVC then turns around and faces No. 7 Rio Hondo at 11 a.m. OCC and Rio Hondo finish up the regional at noon.
The one best team on the day moves on to next week's State Championship at West Valley College in Saratoga.
Irvine Valley won the state championship last year in legendary coach Tom Pestolesi's final season.
This postseason, it is Myles Maugututia in charge. Maugututia started the season as Ryan Windisch's top assistant.
But when Windisch earned an assistant coaching job for the University of Arizona women's indoor team last month, Maugututia took over.
And the Lasers didn't miss a beat. IVC finished the regular season with a record of 12-11 overall and 9-1 in the Orange Empire Conference. IVC won the OEC Eastern Division title.
Irvine Valley is led by its top pair of sophomores Barett Nolan and Chloe Swanson, who finished second in the OEC Pairs Championships last week and qualified for the regional pairs event.
The pairs of sophomore Gabi Brown and freshman Sydney Dews and sophomore Angie Griego and freshman Tessa Marocco also qualifed for the regionals.
Irvine Valley and Orange Coast have played once already this season. But the match was early - Mar. 3.
Orange Coast won the OEC Western Division title, finished the year with a record of 15-2 overall and was 10-0 in conference.
Its team of Brisa Zapata-Reaves and Corinne Williams won the conference pairs event last week.
Rio Hondo had a solid season. The Roadrunners had a program best record of 15-4 and are in the regionals for the first time.
Rio Hondo's top duo of Nadine Oronoz and Faith Lee advanced to the quarterfinals of the South Coast Conference pairs tourney last week at Long Beach City.
