Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team won its fourth straight match and earned its first sweep of the season with a 25-13, 25-20, 25-21 nonconference victory over LA Trade Tech on Wednesday afternoon.
Irvine Valley improved its record to 4-2 overall. Trade Tech, in its first year as a program, fell to 1-5.
Irvine Valley was paced by freshman middle blocker Kevin Vaz, who finished with 10 kills and two blocks.
Sophomore middle blocker Taylor Kempkes added eight kills and five blocks and freshman outside hitter Josh Schmidt had seven kills and six blocks. Schmidt also hit .428.
Freshmen outside hitters Coley Murray (five kills) and AJ Hammer (four kills) also contributed in the win.
Freshmen John Lasezky and Steven Duhoux split the setting duties with Lasezky finishing with 17 assists and Duhoux adding 13 assists. Both players also ended with two aces.
Irvine Valley moves on to a big match on Friday when it plays at Long Beach City at 6 p.m. The Vikings sit atop the Western State Conference with a record of 4-1 and are considered one of the top challengers for the state title this season.
It is also the final nonconference contest for the Lasers. They open Pacific Coast Conference action next Wednesday at Palomar and then host Grossmont on Feb. 28. Both matches are slated to start at 6 p.m.
