Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team was ranked No. 4 in the first California Community College Men's Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll of 2019, which came out late last week.
The Lasers were off to a 4-3 start when the poll came out and then beat Palomar in four sets on the road on Thursday to improve their record to 5-3 overall.
IVC won two matches on the road last week.
Orange Coast was the overwhelming favorite as the top-ranked team in the poll.
The Pirates received the top vote in the ranking from every coach. Through Wednesday (Feb. 13), Orange Coast had a record of 5-0 and had dropped just three sets overall.
The Pirates' toughest matches came over the last week. OCC defeated No. 3 El Camino in five sets at home last Friday and then won at Long Beach City in four sets Wednesday night. Kyle McCauley led the way with 35 kills over those two wins for the Pirates.
Long Beach City came in at No. 2 in the opening week. The Vikings swept Grossmont and Miramar in matches last week before falling to Orange Coast. Uriel Batista had 14 kills for LBCC against OCC.
El Camino earned the No. 3 position after sweeping in three of its four contests so far. It beat Fullerton 25-21, 25-23, 25-17 on Wednesday and has a big showdown with No. 4 Irvine Valley next Friday (Feb. 22) at IVC.
Irvine Valley improved to 4-1 against community college foes with its two wins last week. The Lasers swept at Pierce last Wednesday night behind nine kills by sophomore outside hitter Sean Carroll. IVC, which has gotten solid play from freshman middle blockers Grant Marocchi and Tristan Belsby, freshman outside hitters Demetre Gossett and Declan Holder and freshman setter Isaiah Powell, plays two matches at home this week.
IVC takes on Grossmont on Wednesday at 3 p.m. and then No. 3 El Camino on Friday at 2 p.m.
Santa Barbara City and Moorpark tied for the fifth spot. Moorpark was off to a solid 4-1 start with its only loss coming in five sets at No. 7 Golden West and Santa Barbara's only defeat so far has been in four sets to No. 4 Irvine Valley.
The rest of the top 10 poll can be viewed below.
CCCMVCA State Top 10
1. Orange Coast (5-0)
2. Long Beach City (4-2)
3. El Camino (3-1)
4. Irvine Valley (4-3)
5t. Moorpark (4-1)
5t. Santa Barbara City (3-1)
7. Golden West (2-2)
8. Santiago Canyon (2-2)
9. Miramar (1-2)
10. LA Pierce (1-2)
Others receiving votes: Grossmont, Santa Monica, Antelope Valley, Fullerton, Palomar
