SANTA ANA, Calif. - Nine teams are set to compete for a title as the 2021 Orange Empire Conference Women's Indoor Volleyball season is set to start on Friday, Sept. 17.
No. 12 Irvine Valley (3-1) is off to another good start and will be looking for their fourth consecutive OEC championship. The Lasers have taken on some tough teams in the pre-season but have come up on top in all but one match. Freshman opposite Jayli Nealy has emerged as a standout for IVC, posting a team high 61 and eight blocks in just four matches while fellow freshman Maddie Harkey has run a smooth offense for the Lasers and ranks third in assists in the OEC with 128.
The No. 3 Cypress Chargers (8-1) will start OEC play as the highest ranked team in the conference. The Chargers have been on a tear in September, winning seven straight with only two set losses in the streak. Cypress is led by setter Vanila Pulu-Suliafu who sits atop the OEC in assists at 271 while adding 74 digs and 43 kills.After seven matches, the No. 15 ranked Orange Coast Pirates (7-0) remain undefeated going into the conference season. The Pirates have a well balanced attack as five players have posted at least 30 kills. But freshman outside hitter Summer Hanks has been the star of the show as she ranks third in the OEC with 74 kills while adding 55 digs and 12 total blocks.
No. 23 Fullerton (6-5) stacked their preseason schedule with some top ranked teams but managed to come out with a winning record. The Hornets have seen success thanks to an abundance of good outside hitters. The trio of Faith Webb, McKenna Mokry and Hannah Wilmes have posted 247 kills to start the year.
Golden West (5-0) has also reached OEC play with an undefeated record and has won every set they've played thus far. The Rustlers are just outside of the top 25 ranked teams and have been anchored by fresham outside hitter Adriana Morales, who leads the team in kills (53) and aces (9) while adding digs on the year.
Another team that received top 25 votes is the Saddleback Bobcats (4-1), who's only loss is to No. 11 Miracosta. The Bobcats have a couple outside hitters leading the way for them as Sydney Brown and Kenzie Huston have combined for 85 kills, 82 digs and17 aces.
The Santa Ana Dons (5-2) have started clicking on all cylinders as they've won five consecutive matches while Riverside City (3-3) looks to be on the same type of trajectory with three straight wins of their own.
Santiago Canyon (1-2) has been slowed by schedule changes but go into OEC play with a win under their belt.
Release by Cammie Lewis, Santa Ana SID
