With its top player back in action, the Irvine Valley men's volleyball team came through with a big-time win on Friday night on the road.
The Lasers, ranked No. 4 in the state, out-lasted Golden West, 25-16, 21-25, 24-26, 25-11, 15-11, in an important Orange Empire Conference match.
The win kept Irvine Valley tied for second in the conference standings with No. 6 Fullerton.
Second-ranked Orange Coast has already clinched a share of the title and can win it outright next week.
On sophomore night where Golden West's Josh Kim, Kevin Lujan, Jacob Kemp and Constan Tolentino were honored before the match, it was an IVC sophomore that might have had the biggest impact.
Middle blocker Matt August, one of the top players in the state, returned from injury and delivered with 14 kills and hit .684 on the night.
Irvine Valley also got a big night from sophomore outside hitter Patrick Furlong, who finished with 17 kills, two blocks and eight digs.
Freshman outside hitter Sean Carroll added 14 kills, seven digs and two aces, freshman outside hitter Trent Williams and sophomore outside hitter Brennan To each contributed seven kills, freshman libero Kelsey Yogi had 15 digs and sophomore setter Austin McBain ran the offense with 57 assists.
Kim had a team-high 23 kills, with eight digs and a block to pace Golden West.
Irvine Valley improved its record to 14-4 overall and 4-2 in conference, while Golden West slipped to 6-11 overall and 1-6 in conference.
The Lasers finish the regular season with two huge matches next week. The Lasers play host to No. 2 Orange Coast on Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Dig Pink Night at IVC. The Lasers then travel to No. 6 Fullerton next Friday for a 6 p.m. contest. Fullerton defeated Irvine Valley in five sets two weeks ago at IVC. August was not in the lineup for that matchup.
