Irvine Valley's women's volleyball team continued its undefeated season the same way it won the Orange Empire Conference—by controlling the net. The Lasers used a balanced offense and swept American River to join the winner's bracket on day 1 of the CCCAA Championships.
The Lasers (24-0) were led by 6-foot-2, All-American middle blocker Annie Mitchem with 11 kills, 5-11 right side hitter Alexis Radecki with 10 kills (and four blocks), and 6-foot outside hitter Marissa Doran with 10 kills (three aces and nine digs). The towering trio caused problems for the Big 8 Conference champion Beavers, who saw their 19-match win streak snapped.
In the opening set, another tall middle at 5-11, Hayley Whyte, hooked a kill that capped a 9-3 Irvine Valley run and a 17-11 lead. A kill by Doran closed things out for a 1-0 game lead.
In set 2, the teams traded leads until Irvine went ahead 10-9 on a booming kill by Mitchem. A kill by Caiti Berrie helped ARC cut it to 19-18, but a crucial serving error killed the Beavers momentum. The Lasers went on a 6-1 run to close the set and a 2-0 games lead.
The third set saw American River lead early, 9-5, on a block by Erika Jones. Irvine Valley responded with an 8-0 run and went on to post its 19th sweep of the season.
"We've outblocked our opponents in every match this year, and that's been our strength this year," said Irvine Valley coach Tom Pestolesi. "Both teams were tight in the first set and then we came around and played better later. American River was right there with us late in that second set and then they made a serving error. Sometimes that's all it takes to get things back our way. In the third, they got tired after they went ahead 9-5."
Pestolesi talked about his team's make-up coming into as the South's top team in the regular season and playoffs.
"We put the emphasis on us, and not really worry about our opponents. We just prepare to beat whomever we face. Tonight, we had good balance on offense and our setter(Hailey Jones) is a really good server and she put us on a few runs. Alexis Radecki really played consistent all night."
Jones finished with 38 assists. Libero Becky Moodie added 16 digs. Radecki hit .444 overall (18 attempts). American River was led by Nicole Hareland with nine kills (.389) and Jones with eight.
Also for the Beavers, Sophi Lozano made 11 digs. ARC had trouble with the taller Irvine front row and made 20 attack errors, hitting just .115 overall.
American River will play Grossmont in an elimination match at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Irvine Valley and Cabrillo (29-0) will drop the number of undefeated teams to one in the state when they meet at 7 p.m. Saturday. American River will play Grossmont in an elimination match in the loser's bracket at 10 a.m. on Sunday.