Lasers roll past Pirates in three
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Irvine Valley | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
Orange Coast | 16 | 16 | 19 | 0 |
COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College women's volleyball team ran into a buzz-saw on Wednesday night as visiting Irvine Valley College topped the Pirates in three sets, 25-16, 25-16, 25-19.
The Lasers (13-0, 6-0 in the Orange Empire Conference), ranked No. 2 in the most recent state polls, were led by 6-foot-2 middle blocker Annie Mitchem, who had 15 kills and four blocks.
For the sixth-ranked Pirates (10-2, 4-2), Sierra Brown, Lehua Alama-Jordan and Danyelle Brown each had seven kills. Carina Perez came up with 16 digs, while setter Danielle Boyette dished out 15 assists.
Coast jumped out with two straight points in the opening set -- just one of only a handful of times the Pirates were able to get multiple points against the big and deep Laser attack.
From there, it was all IVC as the guests went on a 13-7 run and grabbed the lead for good to take the first set comfortably.
Leading 8-6 in the second set, Irvine Valley broke things open with a 9-3 run, pushing the lead up to 17-9. Coast would get back to within five at 18-13 only to see the Lasers close out the second set with a 7-3 run.
Sophomore middle blocker Kellie Kleszcz came up tall in the third set and notched five blocks, helping Coast take a 16-15 lead midway through the third set.
But Juju Cannon contributed to the IVC offense with four big kills down the stretch as the Lasers finished the night with a 10-3 run.
OCC will return to action on Friday at Saddleback College (6 p.m.) before returning to the Peterson Gym on Wednesday against Cypress (6 p.m.).
