The Irvine Valley women's volleyball team got its 2014 postseason off to a solid start.
The Lasers, seeded first, swept No. 16 San Diego Mesa, 25-11, 25-15, 25-14, in a first-round match of the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs.
The Lasers were ready, hitting an impressive .467 as a team on the night. It was the third-best hitting percentage total in a match for the team this season.
Irvine Valley, which has been ranked No. 2 in the state all season and recently won its second straight Orange Empire Conference title, improved its record to 22-0 overall.
San Diego Mesa, which finished third in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, finished its season with a record of 14-11.
San Diego Mesa actually scored the first point of the match, but Irvine Valley then reeled off six straight points, including a kill by sophomore middle blocker Annie Mitchem to take a 6-1 lead and force an early San Diego Mesa timeout.
IVC went up, 17-6, on a kill by sophomore outside hitter Marisa Doran. The Lasers took a 22-7 lead on back-to-back kills by Doran.
Irvine Valley got to set point at 24-10 on a kill by freshman middle blocker Hannah Matt. And two points later a kill by Mitchem ended the first set.
The Lasers scored the first four points of the second set to take control early.
San Diego Mesa stayed within five points most of the set. Up, 15-10, Irvine Valley scored five of the next six points to go ahead, 20-11, and break the set open.
A kill by freshman opposite Juju Cannon moved IVC to set point. And a San Diego Mesa hitting error put the Lasers up in sets, 2-0.
San Diego Mesa tied the third set at 7-7 on a kill by Shey Smith, but the Lasers then scored the next five points, capped by kills by Matt and Mitchem to go up, 12-7.
The Olympians answered with a point to stay close. Irvine Valley then put its foot down and scored 10 of the next 14 points. A hitting error and then net by the Olympians gave IVC a 22-11 advantage.
A kill by sophomore setter Hailey Jones shortly after made it 24-13.
And then two points later, Matt closed out the match with a kill.
IVC got solid matches from all its players. The Lasers got 13 kills, six digs and three blocks from Doran. Pekich finished with 12 kills in 19 attempts with no errors and eight digs. Mitchem had 11 kills, eight digs and three aces and Matt finished with eight kills in 12 attempts with no errors and six blocks.
Irvine Valley also got 42 assists and five digs from Hailey Jones and six digs from freshman defensive specialist Emily Reinking.
Irvine Valley plays again in the second round on Saturday night. IVC will again host. The Lasers will take on No. 9 Canyons, which defeated No. 8 Palomar in four sets, 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 25-18, at Palomar on Tuesday.
