No changes atop men's VB poll: Irvine Valley, OCC, Santa Monica
IRVINE VALLEY, Calif. - Irvine Valley, Orange Coast, Santa Monica occupied the top three spots in the California Community College Men’s Volleyball Coaches Association State Poll once again.
The top three teams stayed the same for the fifth straight week with Irvine Valley remained No. 1 for the sixth week in a row.
Orange Coast came in at No. 2 and Santa Monica was picked third.
Irvine Valley struggled early, but came back to win the next three sets and beat Santa Barbara City, 13-25, 25-20, 25-9, 25-20, on the road last Friday. Outside hitter Patrick Furlong had a season-best 19 kills in the win for the Lasers. Setter Austin McBain ran the offense with 47 assists. IVC hosts No. 7 El Camino on Wednesday.
Orange Coast won its eighth and ninth straight matches last week, sweeping Moorpark at home on Wednesday and beating LA Pierce in four sets on the road on Friday.
Orange Coast’s impressive run of winning 25 sets in a row was snapped when it dropped the third set to Pierce Friday. In OCC’s sweep of Moorpark, Jordan Hoppe had 14 kills and Justin Kam finished with 12 kills.
Santa Monica ran its win streak to seven matches with a four-set victory at Santa Barbara City on Wednesday and a sweep of Santiago Canyon on Friday. Santa Monica hit .345 as a team on Friday and got 12 kills frim Shane Stoklos and 36 assists from Hunter Douglas.
Long Beach City jumped ahead of Golden West, moving up one spot from fourth to fifth this week after beating the Rustlers last Friday at home in four sets. The Vikings have won six matches in a row. In the win over Golden West, Cyrus Fa’alogo had 16 kills and hit .400, Noah Taitano finished with 13 kills and Elai Mama added 10 kills and hit .476.
Most schools get into conference play this week with a couple high-powered contests right off the bat. Orange Coast is at Golden West on Wednesday and Long Beach City travels to Santa Monica on Friday.
The full top 10 poll can be viewed below.
CCCMVCA State Top 10
1. Irvine Valley (8-1)
2. Orange Coast (10-1)
3. Santa Monica (10-1)
4. Long Beach City (9-3)
5. Golden West (7-2)
6. LA Pierce (7-4)
7. El Camino (5-4)
8. Fullerton (8-4)
9. Miramar (5-4)
10. Santa Barbara City (3-7)
Others receiving votes: San Diego Mesa, Grossmont