After sweeping two strong opponents and dropping a tough match in four sets against another one of the top teams in the state, the Irvine Valley women's volleyball team was ranked No. 8 in the first California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association State Top 25 Poll.
Irvine Valley swept both Canyons and Santa Barbara City before falling to Moorpark.
American River at 4-0 was ranked No. 1 in the state with Feather River second, Fresno City third, Ventura fourth, Moorpark fifth, San Diego Mesa sixth, West Valley seventh and Irvine Valley at No. 8.
Rounding out the top 10 teams were San Joaquin Delta ninth and Canyons at 10th.
The Big 8 Conference's ARC defeated last year's state champ Fresno City in four sets on Sept. 2 after starting the season with a 5-set triumph over current second-rated Feather River. The perennial Golden Valley Conference champions lead the state in victories at 8-1. The Central Valley Conference's dynamo Fresno (3-1) settled for No. 3 in the ranking and swept seventh-ranked West Valley, last year's state runner-up.
Like last season, the South Region is full of solid teams, but the one that stood out in the opening two weeks as the region's top squad at #4 is Western State North Division giant Ventura. The Pirates upped their record to 5-0 with sweeps over No. 6 San Diego Mesa, No. 11 Pasadena City, and unranked Bakersfield, a team that earned the top region seed in 2021.
The WSC continues to show strength with Moorpark at No. 5 and College of the Canyons No. 10 (South Division). The Big 8 Conference has always impressed and had five teams reach the top 25 including No. 9 San Joaquin Delta. The Orange Empire Conference has four teams in the rankings led by Irvine Valley at No. 8.
This week's wild card is the emergence of 23rd-ranked Santa Ana, making a rare Top 25 appearance after many years finishing in the bottom half of the OEC standings.
Irvine Valley with a record of 2-1 overall is set to host Southwestern on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. The Lasers will then travel to the San Diego Mesa quad event where they will tak on MiraCosta at 2 p.m. and then host Mesa at 5 p.m.
