Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team won its first Orange Empire Conference match, sweeping aside Santiago Canyon Friday night at home.
It was the first ever Orange Empire Conference match for the Lasers, who are ranked No. 1 in the state.
New programs Santiago Canyon and Fullerton joined Golden West, Orange Coast and IVC to make up the conference.
Irvine Valley, Golden West and Orange Coast had previously been playing in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, which was made up of San Diego area colleges.
The Lasers struggled with consistency at times on Friday, but had more than enough to take care of Santiago Canyon in the 25-17, 25-16, 25-15 victory.
IVC improved its record to 10-1 overall, while Santiago Canyon's record slipped to 2-8 overall.
Irvine Valley got a season-high 20 kills from freshman middle blocker Matt August in the victory. August also chipped in three aces and two digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Cody Hermanson finished with eight kills, eight digs and two blocks and freshman outside hitter Brennan To had seven kills, four digs and one ace.
Sophomore libero Josh Evers added five digs and one ace and freshman setter Austin McBain ended with 40 assists, one block and five digs.
The Lasers have their biggest week of the season so far coming up.
IVC plays at No. 5 Golden West on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. and then hosts No. 2 Orange Coast on Friday at 6 p.m.
The battle between the top two-ranked teams in the state on Friday is also Irvine Valley's annual Dig Pink Night with proceeds going to fight breast cancer.
