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2/8/2012 Men's volleyball team battles, but falls in five to LA Pierce

The Irvine Valley men’s volleyball team dropped its second straight match, falling to Los Angeles Pierce in five sets in a non-conference contest on Wednesday night at home. Pierce came out on top, 25-22, 16-25, 25-17, 18-25, 16-14. Although it was a loss, it was a match the Lasers could still take a lot of positives from. Irvine Valley had its chances in the fifth set. The Lasers gave Pierce, which went into the contest undefeated at 3-0, its toughest match of the season. And several players stepped up for Irvine Valley. Sophomore middle blocker Mark Metrakos was the biggest contributor for IVC, finishing with a match-high 20 kills and six blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Kevin Campbell added nine kills and freshman libero Ryan Windisch finished with 10 digs, including a couple of sprawling efforts to keep points alive. Sophomore setter Kevin Fiske contributed 44 assists. IVC played some of its best volleyball of the night late in the fourth set. The set was tied, 14-14, when IVC went on a 7-1 run. Freshman middle blocker Jeff Austin had a kill, sophomore opposite Sam Cornell killed an overpass, Austin had a block, sophomore outside hitter Kevin Ringuette fired a kill off the block and sophomore outside hitter Trevor Lund served an ace to put the Lasers ahead, 21-15. Ahead, 22-18, IVC won the final three points of the set to send the match to a fifth. Metrakos had a kill, sophomore defensive specialist Garrett Komisarek had an ace and Metrakos’ tip winner gave IVC the fourth set. Pierce led the fifth set, 10-7, but the Lasers fought back to 10-10 after a kill by Cornell, a hitting error by the Brahmas and a combo block by Metrakos and Cornell. The teams traded side outs from there, but IVC could never take the lead. Irvine Valley saved one match point (at 14-13) on a kill by Lund. Tied at 14-14, Pierce set up another match point on a kill by Erik Zavala. And when Austin’s kill attempt sailed long, the Brahmas had the win. Zavala paced Pierce with 15 kills. Ryan Musick added 12 kills and Alex Jones and Daniel Williams each finished with 10 kills. Luke Yanez had a match-high 21 digs for Pierce, which improved its record to 4-0. The Brahmas swept IVC rival Orange Coast last week. Irvine Valley, which saw its record slip to 1-2 on the season, plays another home match on Friday. It hosts El Camino in a 2 p.m. contest. Irvine Valley defeated El Camino to capture the preseason Long Beach Invitational two weeks ago.

2/3/2012 Men's volleyball team loses in four sets to Long Beach City

Irvine Valley’s men’s volleyball team couldn’t make it two wins in a row to start the 2012 season. In a match that had the feel and intensity of a playoff contest, Long Beach City defeated the Lasers, 25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-13, Friday night at Irvine Valley. Irvine Valley’s record dropped to 1-1 overall. Long Beach City improved to 2-0. Long Beach City won the first and fourth sets fairly easy. The two in the middle could have gone either way. The Vikings jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the first set. Irvine Valley didn’t get closer than four points the rest of the set. Long Beach City took its largest lead of the set at 22-14 on a kill by Rob McLean. The Vikings got to set point at 24-17 on a kill by Jo’Lon Clark. The Lasers scored the next two points, but the Vikings closed out the set on a kill by Greg Utupo. The second set went down to the wire. Neither team led by more than four points the entire set and after IVC was up, 13-11, neither side was up by more than one point. The set was tied at 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23. Tied at 23, Irvine Valley scored the final two points to earn the win. Sophomore opposite Sam Cornell’s kill gave IVC a 24-23 advantage and then sophomore outside hitter Trevor Lund earned a kill off the block to end the set. It was Long Beach City that won a close third set. Long Beach City led, 21-17, but the Lasers won four straight points to get back in it. Sophomore Kevin Ringuette killed an over pass to pull Irvine Valley into a 21-21 tie. But a Laser service error gave the lead back to Long Beach City. And a kill by Utupo put the Vikings ahead, 23-21. Irvine Valley scored the next two points. A kill off the block by Ringuette made it 23-23. Tied, 24-24, Long Beach City came up with two in a row to earn the hard-fought set. A kill by McLean made it 25-24 and an IVC hitting error ended the set. It was all Long Beach City in the fourth and final set. Ahead, 6-4, the Vikings out-scored Irvine Valley, 6-2, to take a commanding 12-6 lead. A kill by Brett Anema gave the Vikings a 20-10 advantage. Later a kill by Aniefre Etim-Thomas moved Long Beach City to match point and the Vikings picked up the victory after an IVC hitting error. Max Wechsung and McLean led Long Beach City with 12 kills apiece. McLean added four blocks and Wechsung had three blocks. Etim-Thomas contributed eight kills and a team-high six blocks. Irvine Valley was paced by sophomore middle blocker Mark Metrakos, who had 10 kills. Cornell added nine kills and freshman middle blocker Jeff Austin had eight kills. Freshman libero Ryan Windisch ended with 15 digs. Irvine Valley hit just .190 as a team on the night. The Lasers play again next Wednesday at home, taking on LA Pierce in a non-conference match at 6 p.m.

2/1/2012 Men's volleyball team sweeps Santa Monica in home opener Zak Beard

The 2012 version of the Irvine Valley men’s volleyball team was impressive in its first home match of the season Wednesday afternoon. The Lasers, who are the defending state champions, swept aside Santa Monica, 25-11, 25-21, 25-17, in non-conference match in a about an hour and 10 minutes. Just about everyone played for IVC (1-0) and they all played well. “We basically used three different lineups,” Irvine Valley Coach Ki Yi said. “It was a very good all-around effort.” Irvine Valley was coming off winning the preseason Long Beach City Invitational last weekend, beating favorite Long Beach in the semis and then El Camino in the final. “I thought what we solidified today was our blocking and passing,” Yi said. “It helps to have such a great setter (returning all-conference and all-state player Kevin Fiske). He is such a big part of this. And then there is Mark (Metrakos) in the middle.” Fiske finished with 22 assists and five blocks in two sets of work and Metrakos, who was an all-conference and all-state player last year as well, ended with seven kills in nine attempts and five blocks. Yi was also pleased with the play of freshman outside hitter Zak Beard. Beard, who was a red-shirt last season, had a team-high 11 kills. “He is really coming around and becoming more comfortable,” Yi said. “I have been stoked watching him improve.” IVC dominated the first set, racing out to a 16-6 lead on a block by sophomore Kevin Ringuette. IVC took a 20-8 lead after a kill by Ringuette and the Lasers went up, 24-10, after a kill by Beard and a hitting error by Santa Monica. Two points later, Beard ended the set with a kill off the block. The second set was close until IVC ran off three straight points to go up, 18-14. Freshman Jonathon Guyman capped the three-point run with a kill on an overpass. Santa Monica got within 20-19 and then 22-20 when IVC won three of the final four points of the set. A kill by Metrakos set up set point and a hitting error by the Corsairs ended things. In the third set, Santa Monica led, 15-14, when IVC ran off six straight points. In the run was a kill by freshman middle blocker Jeff Austin, a tip winner by Beard, an ace by Ringuette and another kill by Beard. And ahead, 20-16, IVC won five of the final six points to end the match. A kill by Beard set up match point and sophomore Kevin Campbell finished it off with a crosscourt kill. Austin and Guymon each added five kills. Guymon also had three blocks. Freshman libero Ryan Windisch had seven digs and sophomore defensive specialist Garrett Komisarek ended with five digs. Freshman back-up setter David Grandy contributed 10 assists in the final set. Irvine Valley will get a big test on Friday when it hosts Long Beach City in a non-conference contest at 6 p.m.

1/30/2012 Men's volleyball team starts season by taking Long Beach tourney Mark Metrakos

Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team started the 2012 season right where it left off the 2011 campaign. The Lasers, who are the defending state champions, captured the preseason Long Beach City College Invitational tournament last weekend. Irvine Valley compiled a record of 5-2 in the tournament and beat El Camino in the final, 25-18, to claim the title. The Lasers had mixed results in pool play competition. Irvine Valley defeated El Camino (25-19, 25-23), but lost to Santa Barbara (25-20, 27-26) in round one. In the second round of pool play, the Lasers beat Santa Monica (25-12, 25-15), but then lost to Moorpark (25-16, 27-26). IVC still moved on to the playoff round. As the fourth-seed, the Lasers defeated No. 5 Moorpark (26-24). In the championship semifinals, Irvine Valley knocked off No. 1 Long Beach City (25-17) before beating No. 7 El Camino (25-18). The Lasers open up the regular season on Wednesday at home with a 2 p.m. match against Santa

Monica. Irvine Valley returns several players from its 2011 state-winning squad, including two players that were named to the all-tournament team at the state event last season. They are sophomore middle blocker Mark Metrakos and sophomore setter Kevin Fiske. Metrakos averaged 2.62 kills and 1.20 blocks per game and led the team with a .363 hitting percentage a year ago. He ranked first in blocks and sixth in hitting percentage in the Pacific Coast Conference. Metrakos had 17 kills and six blocks in Irvine Valley’s state championship winning, five-set win over Grossmont last season. Fiske averaged 11.09 assists, which ranked second in conference. Fiske totaled 58 assists in the win over Grossmont in the state title match last season. Among the other players IVC also has back from last season are middle blocker Kevin Campbell, libero Garrett Komisarek and outside hitter Kevin Ringuette. Irvine Valley finished with a record of 15-6 overall last season and was 8-4 in conference.

Celebrating after match point at the 2011 State Championships

Men's volleyball team in the local news

Click here to read a feature in the Daily Pilot about the men's volleyball team and its winning ways

2011 IVC Men's volleyball State Championship slideshow video

4/29/2011 Five men's volleyball players named all-conference

The accolades kept coming for the Irvine Valley men's volleyball team this week. It was announced that five Lasers were named to all-Pacific Coast Conference teams. Sophomore outside hitter Brando Directo and sophomore libero Chris Reames were each named to the first team, while freshman setter Kevin Fiske, sophomore opposite Caleb Brophy and freshman middle blocker Mark Metrakos were selected to the second team. Directo, who was named MVP of the state tournament after IVC beat Grossmont for the championship last week, averaged 3.64 kills per game. He ranked second in the conference and fourth in the state in that category. Directo also averaged 2.03 digs and hit .297 on the season. Reames averaged 2.55 digs per game. He ranked fourth in conference in digs during the regular season. Fiske averaged 11.09 assists per game and ranked second in conference. Brophy averaged 2.47 kills per game and was third on the team in digs and first in aces. And Metrakos averaged 2.62 kills per game and 1.20 blocks per game and hit a team-best .363. He ranked first in blocks and sixth in hitting percentage in the conference. Directo, Reames, Fiske, Brophy and Metrakos helped Irvine Valley win a state title and end the year with an overall record of 15-6. All-Conference List

4/26/2011 Star outside hitter Brandon Directo goes out on top

It was fitting that Irvine Valley sophomore men's volleyball player Brandon Directo finished things off last Friday night at Orange Coast.

Directo's cross-court kill on match point in the fifth-game against Grossmont gave IVC the 2011 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship, the program's fourth overall and third in the last five years.

Directo was an emotional leader on and off the court for the Lasers in 2011.

"He always plays hard and he plays with an energy that you can't teach," IVC co-head coach Tom Pestolesi said.

But Directo admittedly had a lot to prove.

He started his career at IVC in 2009 and was a hit from the start. He was named co-player of the year in the Pacific Coast Conference after averaging 4.58 kills per game.

But after winning state titles the previous two years, IVC didn't make the state tournament in 2009.

The Lasers were knocked off by Santa Monica at home with a trip to state on the line.

Irvine Valley was back at the state tournament last year, but Directo wasn't on the court. He red-shirted in 2010 to focus on his studies.

This season was about redemption.

And Directo delivered.

He led Irvine Valley in kills in 14 of 21 matches, including recording 20 or more kills in three matches this season. Directo ranked fourth in the state during the regular season at 3.67 kills per game, 12th in digs at 2.16 per game and 14th in hitting percentage at .318.

His 277 kills led Irvine Valley and his 154 digs were second-best on the squad.

Showing his all-around game, he was also second in aces and fifth in blocks for the Lasers.

"And all that from an outside hitter that is just 5-9," Pestolesi said. "Honestly, he is probably the most athletic player we've ever had here. He has been measured with a 46-inch vertical jump and I know he has jumped even higher than that during matches."

Directo had 17 kills in the team's opening round playoff sweep over Santa Barbara City. After the match, Santa Barbara coach Armen Zakarian was so impressed with Directo that he said "you don’t stop a player like No. 4 (Directo), you just try to stop the guys around him."

Directo didn’t have the best state semifinal match, finishing with just eight kills and hitting .080. But Irvine Valley got solid matches from starters Corey Brophy, Mark Metrakos, Adam Johnson and Kevin Fiske in a four-game win over Orange Coast.

Directo turned it up a notch in the championship final, though, as Irvine Valley triumphed to a 25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 18-25, 15-13 victory over Grossmont.

He finished with 17 kills, eight digs and five blocks in that title match to be named the tournament's most valuable player.

"It was every single one of us trusting each other," Directo said. "The past couple of weeks we have come together like no other team has. I felt bonded with these guys so much. I trusted them and turned to them and I knew what they were thinking when they looked at me. They wanted this championship. I keep saying to these guys that 'we are family, we are family.' Nobody can take this away from us. We are family."

That family celebrated, hugged and snapped picture after picture for nearly an hour after the win in Orange Coast's gym last Friday night.

"Everything was going through my head," said a spent and emotional Directo after the match. "I was thinking of how my family and my friends and my teammates and coaches supported me the whole time I have been at IVC. It has been a fun process and a great experience in my life, one of the best experiences of my life.

"Playing volleyball for Ki (Yi) and Pesto (Tom Pestolesi) and Miguel (Monterola) has been fun. They are great coaches and I have had a lot of great teammates. And I couldn't have done it without them. They helped me through everything."

Directo will get his AA degree from IVC in May and move on to a four-year school to continue his education.

"I am really happy that Brandon will be moving on to a place like Cal State Fullerton or Long Beach State and work toward his degree," Pestolesi said. "And I am glad that he got to end his volleyball career at IVC the right way."

4/25/2011 Winning it all - what the coach says

Irvine Valley concluded a special late season run with the ultimate prize in community college men's volleyball last Friday at Orange Coast. The Lasers, who won their final six matches of the season, defeated Grossmont in five games to claim the 2011 State Championship. IVC finished with a record of 15-6 overall. IVC co-head coach Ki Yi talked about his players coming through in the fifth game and how the team battled back from tough stretches during the season to win it all.

"It was an up and down season and (winning) makes it that much more sweet. With all the adversities they went through (losing three of four matches before going on the late season run), they learned that it takes a lot of strength. I was so stoked that they pulled it together and great things happened. I couldn't be more proud of these guys. I am really, really proud of these guys."

"It came down to heart in that fifth game, digging in deep. They were nervous, you could tell. But for Brandon (Directo) to almost approach backwards and swing to get that last kill - that takes a lot of courage. I give props to all of those kids."

"I started Mark Metrakos (IVC's starting middle blocker) at left front in that fifth game and I did it for a reason. I told Mark to get us points. He hit one in the net and I wondered if it was a mistake and then he came back and buried one straight down and I knew I didn't (make a mistake). It felt great that all of these guys stepped up and did exactly what they were supposed to do."

"It is amazing how a little change can make a difference (after struggling). We lost some matches, but the guys changed their mentality. They decided that we are going to work hard and do things right. And that change made the biggest difference. They did it the right way."

4/22/2011 Lasers capture state championship, Directo named MVP
Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team won a marathon five-set match over Grossmont to capture the 2011 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship on Friday night at Orange Coast College's Peterson Gymnasium in Costa Mesa. Irvine Valley rolled to opening set wins, beating Grossmont, 25-17, 25-17. But the Griffins, searching for their first state title, wouldn't go down without a fight and roared back to take set three and four, 25-23, and, 25-18, before Irvine Valley closed out the state final with a narrow 15-13 victory in an exciting fifth set. State tournament MVP Brandon Directo, a sophomore outside hitter who has been a force for IVC all season, led the Lasers with 17 kills and eight digs and added five blocks in the win. Freshman middle blocker Mark Metrakos also posted 17 kills and had a team-high six blocks. coaches celebrate

Freshman setter Kevin Fiske totaled 58 assists, sophomore opposite Caleb Brophy had 11 kills and seven digs, freshman middle blocker Adam Johnson and freshman outside hitter Tommy Tsoi each added seven kills and sophomore libero Chris Reames finished with seven digs in the match, which featured several back and forth, dramatic rallies between the two squads. Irvine Valley won its fourth state championship overall (1993, 2007, 2008). And IVC improved its impressive record in state finals to 4-0. Under second-year coach Ki Yi, the Lasers closed out an up and down season on top. IVC ended with a record of 15-6 overall. "These guys did an amazing job," said Yi, who shares co-head coaching duties with Tom Pestolesi. "I was going to live and die with Brandon swinging, and he took care of business. "I could tell the guys were nervous toward the end," Yi added. "And so was I and I think I did a bad job of hiding it. But I am so proud of these guys. It was a great overall effort." In the 2011 state champs

deciding fifth set, Grossmont led early, 6-5, before IVC came storming back to score four straight points thanks to three Grossmont errors and a Directo kill. IVC led, 11-7, but had to withstand one last Grossmont surge. Four IVC errors and a kill by Shalimar Buchanan got Grossmont within one point at 14-13.

But Directo capped the state championship run and started a wild celebration with a cross-court kill from the left side. Besides Directo being named MVP, Metrakos and Fiske were also named to the all-tournament team for the Lasers. This is the second state title for IVC athletics this school year as the women's golf team won its first ever championship last fall.

4/22/2011 Knocking off Orange Coast - what the coach says

Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team earned its biggest win of the season Wednesday night with a four-game victory over Orange Coast. And the Lasers did it at the right time - in the semifinal of the state tournament. OCC beat IVC twice during the regular season. Irvine Valley is now just one win away from the program's fourth state title. IVC co-head coach Ki Yi talked about the keys to victory over Orange Coast and what it is going to take to beat Grossmont.

"The difference was Caleb Brophy did an excellent job as the opposite and our libero Chris
Reames did an awesome job. I also thought our setting choices and the distribution of our sets between front row and back row attackers was really key. We had a lot of back row kills that we didn't get the last two times we played Coast. Our setter Kevin Fiske did a wonderful job distributing the ball. All in all, our serving was aggressive. We did a really nice job serving. But a couple of key players really stepped up at the right time and made a big difference for us."

"I give a ton of credit to Coast. They are a great squad and for us to beat them we had to be at our best. We were the best tonight."

"We have been picking up our matches. We beat Grossmont before the playoffs started and then we swept Santa Barbara in the first round. We have been kind of riding a positive wave. The guys started feeling a lot more confident in their abilities and I think that really paid off for us. They truly started to believe and that helped us a ton."

"I feel good that we are here (in the title match). I have to prep these guys to make sure that this (the win over OCC) wasn't their finals. We have to play a lot better to beat Grossmont. I feel confident and I feel good because these guys have put a lot together in the last week and a half. They have really changed the way they look, the way they are acting, the way they are supporting each other. They are really a team and it has been a while since they were really a team. It is nice to see."

4/21/2011 Irvine Valley men's volleyball in the local news

click here to read the Daily Pilot's recap of the Lasers beating OCC Wednesday in the state semis

4/20/2011 Men's volleyball team upsets Orange Coast, makes state final

The Irvine Valley men's volleyball team continued its strong late season run by upsetting Pacific Coast Athletic Conference champion and top seed Orange Coast 3-1 in semifinal No. 2 of the 2011 California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Men's Volleyball State Championship at Orange Coast in Costa Mesa on Wednesday night. The Lasers came out on top, 28-26, 25-21, 17-25, 25-21. Irvine Valley, the No. 3 PCAC seed, will look to win its first state title since 2008 and will face Grossmont in Friday's State Championship final at 7 p.m. The two conference rivals knew each other well after facing off twice earlier this season, both resulting in wins by the Pirates. "It's hard to beat a team three times," said co-head coach Ki Yi. "But at the same token, Coast is a really good team. No one really has an advantage when you have faced each other so many times." But IVC stunned Orange Coast as well as the home crowd by stealing Set 1, 28-26. The Pirates led early 16-9 and were up 18-12 before the Lasers rallied for five straight points, including a pair kills by sophomore outside hitter Brandon Directo, to get within one point at 18-17. Irvine Valley outscored Orange Coast 11-8 the rest of the way to pull off the win. The momentum carried over into Set 2, as Irvine Valley stormed out to a quick 4-0 lead after three Chris Reames

errors by OCC and a Directo kill. The Lasers led throughout and looked for the sweep in Set 3. But Orange Coast wasn't going to go down easy. IVC led late in the third, 18-16, but couldn't close it out. Orange Coast scored eight of the last nine points, thanks to a pair of kills by McKay Smith and Jeff Patton to force a fourth set. Just as in Set 3, IVC came out quickly in the fourth. The Lasers went up 6-0 and led 10-2 after five early OCC errors. But trailing 18-13, OCC rallied for five unanswered points after three IVC errors and kills from Troy Tomasello and Chris Pratt to get within one point at 18-17. But OCC would get no closer. Directo's kill off the block on set point get Irvine Valley the set and match win. Sophomore opposite Caleb Brophy led Irvine Valley (14-6) with 16 kills, including five in Set 4. Sophomore libero Chris Reames had 10 digs and freshman setter Kevin Fiske totaled 50 assists. "The distribution of our setting and our kills from the back row are what really led us to this win," Yi said. "Reames, Brophy, and Fiske really carried us tonight. It was a great team effort as well." For Orange Coast (16-3), Tomasello had 15 kills and Pratt totaled 12 kills. Danny Baker led all with 16 digs and James Anderson had 47 assists. Irvine Valley takes on Grossmont in the state title match. The two teams split matches in conference this season, but Irvine Valley swept the Griffins in the most recent match - last Friday night to close out the regular season at Irvine Valley. Irvine Valley is after its fourth state title, the last coming in 2008. Box Score

4/19/2011 Men's volleyball state championships preview

Orange Coast and Long Beach City have been named the top seeds for this week's California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Men's Volleyball State Championship tournament. The event is set to take place this Wednesday and Friday, April 20 and 22, at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. Wednesday's state championship semifinals matchups have been set. PCAC #2 seed Grossmont College will take on Western State Conference champion Long Beach at 5:30 p.m., followed by PCAC #3 seed Irvine Valley against Pacific Coast Athletic Conference champion Orange Coast at 8:00 p.m. In their lone match this season on February 16, Long Beach cruised to a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-21, 25-19) at Grossmont. Orange Coast took both matches played against Irvine Valley this season. OCC swept IVC at home (25-22, 25-23, 25-20) on March 11 and was a 3-1 winner (25-19, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23 ) in Irvine on April 6. As conference champions, Orange Coast and Long Beach both received state quarterfinal playoff byes while Grossmont and Irvine Valley had to play their way in to the semis. On Monday night, Grossmont rolled to a three-set sweep (25-23, 25-22, 25-18) over WSC #3 seed El Camino. Irvine Valley also won in three (25-22, 26-24, 25-22), sweeping WSC #2 seed Santa Barbara City. State Tournament bracket

About the Orange Coast Pirates

Orange Coast returns to the Final Four for the fifth straight season. Under head coach Travis Turner, the Pirates enter play this week with a state-best 16-2 overall record and went 11-1 in the PCAC to win its first conference title since 2008. Since dropping a 3-1 match to Grossmont on March 9, OCC has won nine straight matches to close out the regular season. Orange Coast has won two state titles (1991, 1994). Last year, Orange Coast suffered a 3-0 loss to Moorpark College in the state championship final.

About the Long Beach City Vikings

Long Beach closed the regular season with a 13-4 overall record and enters the state tournament for the sixth straight season. The Vikings compiled an 8-2 record in Western State Conference play to capture their seventh conference title in eight seasons under head coach Randy Totorp. LBCC was cruising through the regular season at 11-2, but dropped two of its last four matches. Long Beach has won seven state championships overall (1976, 1980, 1982, 1985, 2004, 2006, 2009). Last season, the Vikings lost to Orange Coast 3-1 in the state championship semifinals.

About the Grossmont Griffins

Grossmont returns to the postseason for the first time since 2007 and is back at the state championships since its third-place finish in 2000. Under long-time head coach Fred Featherstone, Grossmont finished second in the PCAC with a 10-2 record and is 15-4 overall after Monday's quarterfinal win. Grossmont lone conference losses were to Orange Coast and Irvine Valley. The Griffins look to win their first ever state championship this season.

About the Irvine Valley Lasers

Irvine Valley looks to win its fourth state title (1993, 2007, 2008). Irvine Valley takes a 13-6 overall record into the state semifinals and finished third in the PCAC with an 8-4 mark under co-head coaches Ki Yi and Tom Pestolesi. Irvine Valley makes its seventh straight postseason appearance. IVC fell to eventual champion Moorpark by a score of 3-2 in last year's state semifinals.

CCCMVCA Hall of Fame

Between Wednesday's semifinal matches, the California Community College Men's Volleyball Coaches Association will induct four members into its Hall of Fame. The 2011 inductees are Mike Bright (El Camino), Duncan McFarland (El Camino), Gary "Jake" Jacobsen (Long Beach) and Bob Wetzel (Orange Coast). The group will join a list of 10 previously inducted members: 2010 - Butch May (Santa Monica), Gary Sato (Santa Monica), and Fred Featherstone (Grossmont); 2009 - Bob Ctvrtlik (Long Beach), Marv Dunphy (Los Angeles Pierce), Rick Olmstead (Santa Barbara), Pat Powers (Santa Monica), Riley Salmon (Los Angeles Pierce), Ken Stanley (Los Angeles Pierce), and Steve Timmons (Orange Coast).

4/18/2011 Volleyball team knocks off Santa Barbara, moves on to state

Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team is back in the final four of the state tournament after winning at Santa Barbara in three straight games Monday night in a regional playoff final. IVC, the No. 3 seed out of the Pacific Coast Conference got hot at the end of each game Monday night to sweep the Gauchos, 25-22, 26-24, 25-22. Santa Barbara was the No. 2 seed out of the Western State Conference. Sophomore outside hitter Brando Directo led the charge with 17 kills in the victory. Irvine Valley improved its record to 13-6 overall. “Irvine came out with a lot of focus and they didn’t make many mistakes," Santa Barbara Coach Armen Zakarian said. "You don’t stop a player like No. 4 (Directo), you just try to stop the guys around him. We’ve been doing a good job of that all season. He didn’t beat us all that much at the end of games. They had to earn it." The Lasers out-scored the Vaqueros, 5-2, at the end of the first game, 4-1 in the second game and 7-2 in the third game after Santa Barbara had forged a 20-18 advantage. The second game was crucial as IVC trailed, 23-22, before IVC scored the final three points to go up by two games. Santa Barbara's record slipped to 9-9 overall. Irvine Valley also got five kills and three blocks from freshman outside hitter Tommy Tsoi, five kills and four blocks from freshman middle blocker Mark Metrakos and four kills, four blocks and five digs from sophomore opposite Caleb Brophy. Sophomore libero Chris Reames chipped in eight digs and freshman setter Kevin Fiske had 31 assists and five digs. IVC returns to the state tournament at Orange Coast College for the second straight year starting Wednesday night. IVC lost in the semifinals last year to Moorpark. IVC takes on host and conference rival Orange Coast in the second of two semifinals Wednesday night at 8 p.m. The Lasers lost to Orange Coast both times this year, but played the Pirates close in a four-game defeat two weeks ago at Irvine Valley.

4/15/2011 Johnson, Tsoi and Fiske lead IVC upset win over Grossmont

The Irvine Valley men’s volleyball team showed it can be a factor in the upcoming Southern California Regional playoffs with a four-game upset win over Grossmont on Friday night in the regular season finale at Irvine Valley. The Lasers’ 25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23 victory over Grossmont, knocked the Griffins into second place in the Pacific Coast Conference standings. Grossmont went into the match tied with Orange Coast for first. OCC, which won its season finale on Thursday night wins the conference title and receives an automatic berth into the state tournament next weekend at OCC. Grossmont and Irvine Valley, which finished third in conference, move on to playoff regional finals (the state quarterfinals) next Monday night. Irvine Valley is slated to play at Santa Barbara City. “(The win) gives us a lot of momentum and confidence going into the playoffs,” IVC co-head coach Tom Pestolesi said. “One of the big keys is that we have been practicing a lot better. I think that is finally carrying over into our matches.” Irvine Valley got big nights from freshman outside hitter Tommy Tsoi and freshman middle blocker Adam Johnson. Both turned in their best matches of the season. Tsoi led IVC in kills for the first time this year, finishing with 17.

He added four blocks. Johnson had 13 kills and four blocks in the win. Sophomore outside hitter Brandon Directo added 11 kills and a team-high 17 digs and sophomore middle blocker Mark Metrakos finished with six kills for the Lasers. “It is as good of balance we’ve had on offense since our first match of the year at Long Beach (an IVC sweep),” Pestolesi said. Sophomore libero Chris Reames added seven digs and freshman setter Kevin Fiske had 46 assists. Grossmont swept Irvine Valley in three games at Grossmont a few weeks ago. But the Lasers showed it was going to be a different kind of match Friday night right from the start. They took control of the first game and didn’t let go. A kill on an overpass by Directo gave IVC a 22-16 lead. An ace by Directo two points two points later made it 24-16. And two points after that Johnson ended the game with a kill. Irvine Valley carried that momentum into the second game where it came up with some clutch plays down the stretch to grind out the win and take a two-game lead. Grossmont rattled off six points in a row at the end of the third game to pull within a game. But the Lasers didn’t let that slow them down in the fourth game. IVC again played tough on key points. A block by Tsoi and freshman Kevin Campbell gave IVC a 22-20 lead. Grossmont pulled within a point at 22-21 and 23-24. But a net by the Griffins gave Irvine Valley match point at 24-22 and Tsoi fired a kill off the Grossmont block for the win. “Adam was great, Tommy was great and I thought Fiske really made some nice sets on tough passes and digs that came his way,” Pestolesi said.

4/13/2011 Irvine Valley wins in four at Palomar, secures playoff berth

Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team locked up third place in the Pacific Coast Conference and secured a trip to the playoffs with a four-game win at Palomar on Wednesday. IVC won, 25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 25-11 to improve its record to 11-6 overall and 7-4 in conference. No matter the outcome of Friday's match against Grossmont, Irvine Valley assured it will finish ahead of Golden West in the standings. The top three teams from the conference advance to the post season. Sophomore outside hitter Brandon Directo finished with 15 kills, 12 digs and three aces to pace the Lasers on Wednesday night at Palomar. Freshman opposite Ryan Sullivan added 13 kills and hit .523 on the night and freshman middle blocker Mark Metrakos ended with 10 kills and three blocks. Sophomore libero Chris Reames had a team-high 15 digs and had three aces, sophomore opposite Caleb Brophy contributed six kills, four digs and two aces and freshman setter Kevin Fiske ran the offense with 40 assists. Directo is third in the conference in kills and sixth in the state at 3.62 per game, Metrakos is third in the conference in blocks at 1.26 and sixth in the conference in hitting percentage at .421, Adam Johnson is fourth in blocks in the conference at 1.22, Fiske is second in conference and the state in assists at 11.16 per game and Reames is seventh in digs at 1.83. The Lasers are hitting .275 as a team on the year. IVC finishes the regular season with a home match against conference-leading Grossmont on Friday at 6 p.m. Irvine Valley will be in a playoff regional final at either Long Beach or Santa Barbara next Monday.

4/8/2011 Men's volleyball team moves closer to a playoff spot

The Irvine Valley men’s volleyball team moved a step closer toward clinching third place in the Pacific Coast Conference and a trip to the Southern California Regional Playoffs. The Lasers defeated San Diego City, 25-20, 25-22, 16-25, 25-7 in a conference match Friday night at Irvine Valley. The top three teams from the conference move on with the No. 1 team receiving a bye into the state tournament and the second and third place teams advancing to regional final match-ups. Grossmont and Orange Coast went into Friday’s action tied for first place in the Pacific Coast Conference with records of 9-1. Irvine Valley improved its record to 10-6 overall and 6-4 with the win over San Diego City. And most importantly the Lasers stayed a match in front of Golden West (5-5) in the standings with two contests left in the regular season. Irvine Valley finishes the season with a match at Palomar next Wednesday and then a home contest against Grossmont next Friday. Golden West hosts Orange Coast next Wednesday and then plays at San Diego City on Friday. Except for a sluggish third game, Irvine Valley controlled things in the win over San Diego City. The Lasers got off to a great start in game one, took a big lead in game two, hit a bump in game three, but then played one of their best games of the year to close out the match. Irvine Valley broke open a close second game with a 10-3 run to go up, 21-12. Sophomore outside hitter Brandon Directo, freshman opposite Ryan Sullivan and freshman outside hitter

Tommy Tsoi each had kills, Tsoi and freshman middle blocker Mark Metrakos each had blocks and sophomore libero Chris Reames had an ace during the run. San Diego City clawed to within two points at 22-20 and 24-22, but IVC won the game on a service error by the Knights. It was all San Diego City in the third game. The Knights never trailed and led by as many as 10 points before winning by nine points. Sean Williams scored three of the Knights’ final four points in the game with kills. But the Lasers got back on track in the fourth game. They bolted out to a 4-0 lead on a kill by freshman middle blocker Kevin Campbell and an ace by Metrakos. IVC took an 8-2 lead on a kill by Directo and went up, 10-3, on a Directo ace. Irvine Valley made it a double digit lead shortly after. Ahead, 13-5, Irvine Valley scored eight straight points. Metrakos had two stuff blocks, Directo had a kill and freshman setter Kevin Fiske added a kill during the streak. Later, a kill and then block by Metrakos and a dig winner by freshman Garrett Komisarek set up match point for Irvine Valley. After San Diego City sided out, Directo closed out the match with a big kill on the left side. Directo led the way with 21 kills. It gave him 43 kills in eight games in matches this week. Directo also had eight digs. Metrakos finished with nine kills, six blocks and three aces, Campbell had five kills and Sullivan and Tsoi added four kills each. Reames finished with 12 digs, Komisarek had six digs and Fiske ended with 37 assists. Irvine Valley plays at Palomar next Wednesday.

2011 Irvine Valley State Championship Team

Welcome to the Irvine Valley College (IVC) Volleyball Web page. IVC is located in Irvine California, five miles from Laguna Beach in Orange County. Irvine Valley opened in 1979 and serves approximately 11,000 students offering a variety of majors and degrees.

Irvine Valley College has both men's and women's volleyball teams that compete in the Orange Empire Conference, one of the most competitive conferences in the state. Tom Pestolesi was hired full time in July 1998 to coach both teams. Pestolesi is now the director of volleyball at Irvine Valley and coaches the women's team.

Ki Yi, a long-time assistant under Pestolesi, was hired to be the head coach of the men's team before the start of the 2010 season and guided the Lasers to the state tournament. Pestolesi and Yi were co-head coaches for 2011 as IVC captured the state championship.