Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team went back and forth with Santa Barbara City all afternoon in a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
In the end, Santa Barbara City pulled out a wild fifth set for the win.
Santa Barbara City came out on top, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 16-25, 19-17 to improve its record to 5-2 on the season.
Irvine Valley's record slipped to 3-3 overall.
The first set was tied at 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, but IVC won the final three points of the set to take it.
A block by freshman opposite Kyle Radecki and sophomore middle blocker Robert Ryley, a block by Radecki and then an ace by sophomore setter Peter Van Liefde finished the set.
Santa Barbara City came back and won the next two sets, which were both close until late.
The second set was tied at 15-15 when Santa Barbara City went on a 4-1 run to take control. A block by Jackson Wopat gave the Vaqueros a 20-16 advantage. Irvine Valley didn't get closer than three points the rest of the way in the second set.
A kill by Taylor McCluskey ended the set.
In the third set, the Vaqueros again used a late run. Ahead, 18-17, Santa Barbara city scored six of the next seven points.
An ace by Wopat gave Santa Barbara City set point at 24-18. IVC won the next two points on kills by Radecki and sophomore opposite Garret Costello, but a Laser serving error gave the Vaqueros the set and a 2-1 lead.
Irvine Valley turned in its best volleyball of the match in the fourth set, rolling to a 25-16 win.
The Lasers used that momentum early in the fifth set, winning the first three points behind an ace by Van Liefde, a kill by Radecki and a kill by freshman outside hitter Ruben Lopez.
But Santa Barbara City battled back and tied the score at 4-4.
The teams traded points from there. It was tied at 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 when Santa Barbara City scored three points in a row. IVC served in the net, Robert Gulvin had a kill and IVC was called for back row attack to make it 13-10.
The Lasers got a point back on a Vaquero serving error. And then a kill by Radecki brought IVC to within 13-12. An ace by Lopez made it 13-13.
Santa Barbara City had match points at 14-13, 15-14, 16-15 and 17-16, but each time Irvine Valley came up with an answer. Radecki had two kills and Costello and Lopez each added a kill to keep IVC alive.
Tied at 17-17, Irvine Valley served in the net to give the Vaqueros an 18-17 lead. The match ended when IVC tried to keep a point alive and hit a ball long.
Radecki led Irvine Valley with 22 kills and five blocks. Costello added 12 kills and Lopez had 11 kills. Van Liefde ended up with 43 assists.
Santa Barbara City got 20 kills from McCluskey, 10 kills from Haward Gomes and eight kills from Wopat in the win.
Irvine Valley plays again next Wednesday at Orange Coast in its first Orange Empire Conference match of the season.
