Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team earned a share of the Orange Empire Conference title with two more wins last week and is seeded No. 2 in the California Community College Athletic Association State Playoffs.
The Lasers start the postseason with a quarterfinal match against No. 7 Moorpark on Friday night at home at 6 p.m.
IVC clinched a share of the Orange Empire Conference title with a 25-23, 25-19, 19-25, 25-23 win at Santiago Canyon last Friday.
Freshman setter Kaina Alvarez had a big night for IVC with 39 assists and 12 digs. Sophomore opposite Demetre Gossett had 18 kills and freshman outside hitter Damon Kooiman added 13 kills.
Sophomore libero Adam Schulte chipped in 11 digs and freshman outside hitter Zach McEntire had eight kills and seven digs.
On the season, Gossett is averaging 3.78 kills per set and hitting .326 to lead the way. Kooiman averages 2.56 kills and is hitting .292 and McEntire averages 1.98 kills per set. Freshman middle blocker Julio Gutierrez is averaging 1.39 kills and hitting a team-best .428. Alvarez is averaging 8.17 assists and Schulte averages 3.39 digs per set.
Gossett ranks third in the state in kills per set, is third in total kills (238) and first in aces per set (0.76). Schulte is third in digs per set and third total digs (217).
Moorpark has a record of 12-6 overall and finished second in the Western State Conference with a record of 8-4.
The Raiders won four matches in a row to end the regular season.
They closed with a sweep at Santa Monica last Wednesday and then swept LA Pierce at home last Friday.
In the 25-13, 25-16, 25-19 win over Pierce, Ebba Tefera and Michael Stahl each had six kills. And Eddy He finished with 17 assists.
On the year, Stahl averages 2.68 kill per set, Tefera is averaging 1.93 kills per set and He is averaging 6.45 assists per set.
The winner of Friday night's match at IVC moves on to the state semifinals on Apr. 27 at El Camino College.
CCCAA State Playoffs – Opening round matches
Matches on Friday, Apr. 21
No. 8 Santa Monica at No. 1 Long Beach City
No. 7 Moorpark at No. 2 Irvine Valley
No. 6 Miramar at No. 3 Orange Coast
No. 5 Santa Barbara City at No. 4 San Diego Mesa
