Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team split matches last week, but stayed in the same place in this week's California Community College Men's Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll.
The Lasers are ranked No. 4 for the fifth week in a row. Irvine Valley has a record of 9-5 overall and is 1-1 in the Orange Empire Conference.
IVC lost its OEC opener last Wednesday at home, falling to No. 1 Orange Coast, 25-16, 25-20, 25-18. The Lasers turned around and swept Fullerton, 25-15, 25-20, 25-18, on Friday on the road behind nine kills from sophomore middle blocker Tristan Belsby and seven kills each from sophomore outside hitter Sean Carroll and freshman middle blocker Grant Marocchi.
Irvine Valley hosts No. 7 Golden West on Friday at 6 p.m. in a key OEC match.
There was some change in the back end of this week's California Community College Men's Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll.
The top four teams remained the same.
The movers included Santa Barbara City moving up from sixth to fifth, Moorpark dropping from fifth to sixth, Golden West leaping up from 10th to seventh and Fullerton falling from eighth to 10th in the poll.
Santa Barbara City had a record of 7-4 overall and is 3-2 in the Western State Conference standings. The Vaqueros defeated Antelope Valley on the road in four sets, swept No. 8 Santiago Canyon and then took No. 1 Orange Coast to five sets before losing, 15-9, in the fifth on Saturday at home. In that match, Calvin Sanborn had 22 kills and nine digs, Trent Lingruen finished with 17 kills and 10 digs and Aaron Letvin had 43 assists and 15 digs for the Vaqueros.
Golden West's important win came last Wednesday when it rallied from two sets down to beat Santiago Canyon at home, 19-25, 18-25, 25-19, 26-24, 15-9 behind 17 kills and 13 digs from Matthew Coleman and 13 kills from Miguel Flores, Jr. The Rustlers were swept by Orange Coast on Friday at OCC, but Golden West still sits in playoff position with a record of 6-5 overall and 1-1 in the Orange Empire Conference.
Also moving up a spot in the rankings this week was Santa Monica, which went from ninth last week into a tie for eighth this week with Santiago Canyon.
The Corsairs have a record of 4-6 overall and 3-2 in the Western State Conference. Santa Monica swept both of its matches last week, winning at LA Pierce on Wednesday and then beating Antelope Valley at home on Friday. In the win over Antelope Valley, Rowdy Lennon had 16 kills and seven digs and AJ Alvarez finished with 12 kills.
Santa Monica has a big contests this week at home, hosting No. 2 El Camino on Wednesday and No. 5 Santa Barbara City on Friday.
There was no surprise at the top of the rankings with dominant Orange Coast at No. 1 for the sixth-straight week. OCC has a record of 15-0 overall and has dropped just seven sets all season. The Pirates swept both Irvine Valley and Golden West and then had to battle to beat Santa Barbara on the road in five sets last week.
El Camino remained at the top of the Western State Conference and No. 2 in the rankings with two more wins last week. The Warriors have a record of 10-1 overall and 5-0 in the Western State Conference. The team has won eight straight.
The rest of the top five included Long Beach State at No. 3 and Irvine Valley at No. 4.
Long Beach takes on No. 5 Santa Barbara City on Wednesday in another one of the week's big contests.
The entire top 10 poll can be viewed below.
CCCMVCA State Top 10
1. Orange Coast (15-0)
2. El Camino (10-1)
3. Long Beach City (9-3)
4. Irvine Valley (9-5)
5. Santa Barbara City (7-4)
6. Moorpark (6-4)
7. Golden West (6-5)
8t. Santiago Canyon (7-4)
8t. Santa Monica (4-6)
10. Fullerton (5-8)
Others receiving votes: LA Pierce, Grossmont