Bobcats fend off Lasers in high-stakes conference showdown, extending winning streak

The Saddleback Woman’s Volleyball team pose for a picture. Lariat | Mickey Alvarez

Saddleback women’s volleyball rallies past rival Irvine Valley College at home behind disciplined ball control, relentless back-row defense and a tight-knit team culture.

Behind a vocal home crowd and a resilient four-set performance, the Saddleback College women’s volleyball team defeated Orange Empire Conference rival Irvine Valley College on Wednesday, Oct 14, inside the Saddleback Gymnasium.

Entering the match with a 12-1 overall record, eight consecutive sweeps and a spotless 7-0 mark atop the conference standings, the Bobcats overcame a rocky opening frame to take down the lasers 3-1, improving to 13-1 overall and 8-0 in conference play. For head coach Mike Sofley, the victory over a perennial conference benchmark served as a definitive statement to the rest of the California Community College Athletic Association competition. “I think we’re one of the better teams in state,” said Sofley. “I think we’re one of the better teams in state for sure.”

Dressed in pink jerseys in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Saddleback faced early resistance from an aggressive Irvine Valley squad. Sofley noted that the opening stages of the match were “a little sticky” as the Lasers took the first set, snapping the Bobcats’ streak of 24 consecutive set victories. Rather than folding under the pressure, Saddleback leaned on its serve-receive precision and matchup-hunting offense to seize control of the final three frames.

“Every team has weaknesses and things that you can pick on,” said Sofley. “We’re very big on finding the matchups and being able to set into those matchups. So being consistent with our ball control, being able to serve tough and setting the matchup, I think is what set us above.”

Sophomore outside hitter Meg Gardner, a Laguna Beach High School alumna, capitalized on those rotational matchups throughout the night. With settlers Hannah Ray and Hannah Schoffstall orchestrating the tempo, Gardner repeatedly exploited open space down the sideline against the Irvine Valley block.

“I feel like I got lucky in my rotation where I had the settler blocking me, so I had a lot more line open than our other outside, so I was able to use the block a little bit more,” said Gardner. “A lot of the time I had line open, and it was just pretty clean there.”

The pivotal sequence of the evening unfolded in the third set with the match deadlocked at one set apiece. Neither side led by more than three points early in the frame as sophomore outside hitter Cori Willcoxson, sophomore middle blocker Sara Johnson and sophomore outside hitter Lara Martinez battled the Lasers at the net. After Irvine Valley knotted the score at 15-15, Schoffstall stepped behind the service line and sparked a decisive run that pushed Saddleback ahead 18-15. The Bobcats stretched their lead to 22-17, forcing a Lasers timeout before closing out the frame to take a 2-1 match advantage.

Anchoring the Bobcats through the match’s longest rallies was sophomore libero Kayla Ostovar. A product of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Ostovar worked in tandem with freshman defensive specialist Rylie White to neutralize Irvine Valley’s outside attack and cover deep corner shots. Ostovar credited Saddleback’s front-row blockers—including 6-foot-2 sophomore Sadie Holmes and Johnson—for setting the table for the back-row defense.

“Our block we’ve been working really hard on, and they’re just setting it up majority of the time perfectly to funnel the ball to me and I love it,” said Ostovar. “When they go deep corner, that’s something we’ve also been working on as a team because a lot of teams get us there. Tonight, I just really focused on not being locked in my knees and just going and seeing what happens, and I think that worked out well.”

Ostovar added that maintaining elite passing in high-stakes matches comes down to composure and trust.

“In serve receive, I would say it’s all a mindset,” said Ostovar. “It’s very much how much you trust yourself and the people around you, and being calm and not … ‘Oh shoot, the ball’s coming for you’.”

That composure was tested inside a raucous gymnasium, where a packed home bleachers expanded by a boisterous contingent from the Saddleback water polo team traded chants with visiting supporters. Ostovar said she used the deafening volume to sharpen her on-court communication.

“It’s obviously hard because you hear a lot of voices and you can get distracted,” said Ostovar. “But for me, even if the noise is against me, I turn it as motivation for me to do well and to talk louder. That way, my teammates know where I am and what I’m doing on the court. Anything in volleyball is all mindset. It’s whatever you make it.”

When Irvine Valley mounted scoring runs, Ostovar said the Bobcats used their on-court huddles to reset, identify open spots on the floor and hold one another accountable without critiques personally.

Both players and coaches attributed that resilience to a cultural overhaul led by Sofley, who took over the indoor and beach volleyball programs in the summer of 2025 alongside his role as high school director for the Saddleback Volleyball Cub. This year’s roster blends local South Orange County standouts with out-of-states recruits, four NCAA Division I transfers and commuters like Schoffstall from Cypress High School and 6-foot freshman outside hitter Blythe Redmond from Alta Loma High School.

According to Sofley, a two-month summer training block forged a “sister in arms” bond across the roster.

“They had a full summer together for two months, spent a lot of time together, and our whole mantra was that whether it’s a Blythe Redmond or anyone else on the roster, everyone has a ton of value to our program, “said Sofley. “They could have gone anywhere to play, and the fact that they trust me enough to give them a great experience and build a good team means a lot, and that’s not something that I take for granted at all.”

For returners like Gardner, seeing that buy-in translate into a signature conference win over Irvine Valley marks a turning point for the program.

“Mike has just brought a culture, and the team this year is really buying into it,” said Gardner. “We’re all working really hard together, and we’re really focusing on teamwork and being good teammates to each other, and that’s really helping us all grow. We just really need to work hard through the rest of the conference play when we redo it, and just keep our heads down, focus on the next win every time.”

The Bobcats will not have long to savor the victory. Following a light Thursday recovery practice, Saddleback travels to Costa Mesa on Friday, Oct 16, to kick off the second round of Orange Empire Conference play against Orange Coast College at 6 p.m.

“They’ve done a good job of having to play multiple matches each week and adjusting to each of our opponents,” Sofley said. “We’ll get through Friday, and then we’ll talk about maybe celebrating a little bit and enjoying it.”

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