Women's volleyball team moves up to No. 1 in the state

Courtesy of On My Game Photography
Courtesy of On My Game Photography

Irvine Valley's women's volleyball team moved into the top spot in the state in this week's California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll.

The Lasers had been ranked No. 2 in the state the previous three weeks.

It is the first time Irvine Valley has been ranked No. 1 in the state since the final poll of 2014. In that season, Irvine Valley went undefeated and won the state title behind two-year national player of the year Annie Mitchem.

The 2017 IVC squad is the last undefeated team in the state after former No. 1 Cabrillo had a 12-match winning streak stopped by Pierce in three sets last week.

Irvine Valley improved its record to 11-0 overall and 5-0 in the Orange Empire Conference with a pair of sweeps last week. The Lasers defeated Golden West, 25-20, 25-19, 25-14, on the road last Wednesday and then swept Fullerton, 25-13, 25-20, 25-9, at home on Friday.

Irvine Valley has dropped just four sets all season and three of them came in a five-set conference win over Saddleback on Sept. 22 at home.

The Lasers are hitting .342 as a team and averaging 13.31 kills and 12.53 digs per set. IVC sophomore setter Megan Ramseyer ranks second in the state in assists at 11.17 per set.

Irvine Valley, led by sophomores Ramseyer, Olivia Aguilar, Taira Ka'awaloa and Gabi Lau, along with freshmen Alyssa Vortouni, Alma Entesari and Renata Bath, plays two matches on the road this week.

The Lasers travel to Santa Ana for a conference match on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and then play at Santiago Canyon in another conference match on Friday.

The rest of the top 10 in the poll included Cabrillo at No. 2, Grossmont at No. 3, Pierce at No. 4, Bakersfield at No. 5, Santa Barbara City at No. 6, Saddleback at No. 7, Folsom Lake at No. 8, San Joaquin Delta at No. 9 and El Camino at No. 10.