Irvine Valley's women's volleyball team had its toughest match of the season so far against rival Saddleback one month ago.
The Lasers had to battle and rally for a five-set win over the Gauchos at home, taking the last two sets to earn the victory.
It looked as if IVC, which is the top-ranked team in the state, was in for another down to the wire contest on Wednesday night on the road at No. 16 Saddleback.
Irvine Valley dropped the first set for just the second time this season, but IVC bounced right back.
The Lasers won the next three sets and came away with a four-set win over Saddleback, 16-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21.
Irvine Valley stayed the only undefeated team in the state, improving its record to 17-0 overall and 11-0 in conference. IVC also increased its hold on first place in the conference with the win.
Irvine Valley leads both Cypress and Golden West by three matches for first place with five matches left to play.
IVC got 16 kills, five digs, two aces and two blocks from sophomore outside hitter Olivia Aguilar.
Sophomore outside hitter Taira Ka'awaloa finished with 11 kills, seven digs and three blocks, sophomore outside hitter Diamond Brogan had seven kills and five blocks and sophomore setter Megan Ramseyer contributed five kills, nine digs, three blocks and 39 assists for the Lasers in the win.
Sophomore libero Gabi Lau had eight digs and two aces and freshman defensive specialist Renata Bath ended up with eight digs.
Irvine Valley moves on to play Golden West on Friday at home at 6 p.m.
It is Dig Pink night for the Lasers. There will be an admission of $5 for the match along with raffles and prizes. All proceeds will be donated to the Side-Out Foundation for breast cancer research and awareness.
