After a bit of a slow start Wednesday night, the Irvine Valley men's volleyball team found its groove and won three straight sets to beat Los Angeles Pierce.
The Lasers came out on top, 23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-19 at home.
"I was really happy with the way the guys played," IVC coach Ki Yi said. "This was a way better effort than our first match (a four-set loss to El Camino). We were on for most of the night and we were a lot more efficient with our hitting."
Irvine Valley evened its record at 1-1 on the year. Los Angeles Pierce saw its record fall to 1-4.
The first set was tied 13 times, including at 19-19 when Pierce made a move. The Brahmas scored three straight points to go ahead, 22-19.
Irvine Valley got within 23-21 on a kill by freshman middle blocker Jake Heinrichs, and then pulled within 24-23 after back-to-back kills by freshman opposite Kyle Radecki and sophomore setter Peter Van Liefde.
But Pierce closed out the first set on the next point on a kill by Cris Pessin.
Irvine Valley fell behind, 7-4, early in the second set, but turned it on after that.
The Lasers trailed, 11-9, but then scored seven points in a row to take control. Sophomore middle blocker Robert Ryley had three kills and a block assist during the run. And freshman opposite Garret Costello's ace put IVC in front, 16-11.
Up, 21-16, Irvine Valley finished the set strong, scoring the final four points. Van Liefde had a kill, Heinrichs threw in two aces and then Pierce hit out to end the set.
Irvine Valley slowly pulled away in the third set. Ahead, 9-8, IVC got a kill and an ace by freshman outside hitter Ruben Lopez as part of a 4-1 run to take a 13-9 advantage.
The Lasers scored three points in a row to get within two points of the set. Two Pierce hitting errors and a kill by Heinrichs made it 23-20. And three points later Costello tooled the block to give IVC a 2-1 lead in sets.
The Lasers continued their momentum in the third set, racing out to an 18-11 lead.
IVC took a 21-13 lead on consecutive kills by Costello and Ryley.
Pierce battled back within 22-18 and then 23-19, but got no closer. Radecki closed out the match with two straight kills for the Lasers.
Radecki finished with 12 kills to pace IVC. He also had a solo block, two block assists and two aces.
Heinrichs added 10 kills in 11 attempts and had seven digs and two aces. Costello contributed seven kills and four aces, Lopez and Van Liefde each had five kills. Van Liefde also ended with 35 assists.
Irvine Valley plays again on Friday, traveling to Moorpark for a 6 p.m. match.
