Irvine Valley remains undefeated
Santa Ana, Calif. – As a “do it again” shoutout echoed through Cook Gym, Irvine Valley broke its team huddle, prepared to back up 30-13 first game thrashing of Santa Ana College.
More than simply a cheer, the phrase was the theme of the night.
“Even though we were playing a team that is not traditionally a powerhouse, we kept our focus,” said Lasers assistant coach Ki Yi. “We got to play a totally different lineup, try a 6-2 instead of a 5-1, and put some of the kids on the bench and get some new people out there.”
IVC hammered out 30-13 and 30-23 wins to defeat the Dons, 3-0, in the sixth consecutive sweep of its 8-0 season start in Friday’s conference opener.
“Our whole team is excited to play a game that is going to be good,” said freshman Katie Pascoe, who finished with four kills. “We’ve only lost one game [this season], so we’re ready to get good competition on and really show our ‘goodness.'”
The competition is soon to heat up for the undefeated Lasers, who will face the biggest challenge of their young season Wednesday when they host No. 2 Golden West College (8-1, 1-0).
The match, which begins at 6 p.m., is the long-awaited start to road against the trio of Orange Empire Conference powerhouses, ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in the state.
“I tell everyone that, if they’re to come to any of our matches, they have to see OCC, Golden West or Fullerton,” said sophomore setter Kelly Keating, who finished with 30 assists.
The Lasers will look to their kill leader, Chelsea Pavlik, to help power their way into the upcoming challenges. The sophomore outside hitter finished Friday with a match-high 16 kills and three aces.
“Everyone just needs to do their jobs,” Keating said. “I need to come out and set, passers need to come out and pass, hitters need to come out and do what they did-put the ball away. We just need to get back to the basics.”
Freshman Marilena Guadagnini contributed 11 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Jessica Flood finished with seven kills and freshman Camryn Torromeo added seven kills and three aces.