The Irvine Valley women's volleyball team, which was ranked No. 3 in the state in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll of the 2019 season, was named the team of the year as part of the athletic department's 19th Annual Awards.
The Lasers finished tied for third at the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship in May at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista.
Irvine Valley ended the year with a record of 17-8 overall and won the Orange Empire Conference with a mark of 10-0 under coach Tom Pestolesi.
IVC ended up going 15-1 against community college opponents.
That one defeat came at the hands of Long Beach City, which beat Irvine Valley and moved on from pool play at the state championship in Chula Vista.
Irvine Valley also had four pairs reach the state championship - sophomore Renata Bath and freshman Lea Kruse, freshmen Anna Unke and Gabriela Griego, sophomores Alyssa Vortouni and Emilie Austin and freshmen Aliaina Gendale and Kendall Nolan reached the state event.
Bath and Kruse and Unke and Griego each made the final day on Saturay of the two-day pairs tournament.
Bath and Kruse battled and ended up finishing tied for third overall.
