Men's volleyball team rolls Golden West
Mar 09, 2007
The Irvine Valley men's volleyball team had its hands full with Golden West early Friday night.
The Lasers survived two game points in the opening game and then cruised to a 37-35, 30-15, 30-18 Pacific Coast Conference victory at home.
It was Irvine Valley's fourth straight win and improved the team's record to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in conference.
Golden West gave Irvine Valley fits in the opening game. The Rustlers nearly claimed the game after taking a 35-34 lead.
But outside hitter Rory Jones and middle blocker Ted Slaughter combined for a block for a point on a kill attempt by Golden West outside hitter Kyle Risko to tie it up at 35-35.
Irvine Valley then won the next two points for the game. Middle blocker Bryan Simmons had a kill and then outside hitter Peter Johnson came up with a kill on game point.
"It was a tough game," Irvine Valley Coach Tom Pestolesi said. "We didn't play bad at all. I thought Golden West was great in the game. I was just proud that our guys hung in there and pulled it the win."
Irvine Valley carried the momentum from the final three points of the first game into the rest of the match. The Lasers completely dominated the final two games.
"It was the best we have played in a while," Pestolesi said. "We really needed to have a match like that."
Just about everyone contributed in the win for Irvine Valley. Johnson led the way with 17 kills, six digs and three aces, Simmons had 12 kills on just 14 attempts with three blocks and Slaughter added 10 kills and six blocks.
Outside hitter Cory Walker finished with nine kills and Jones contributed five kills, six blocks and three digs. Libero Sean Grubbs had a team-high 12 digs and defensive specialist Kaleo Baxter added five digs. Setter Tyler Rex finished with 50 assists.
Irvine Valley plays again next Wednesday, traveling to Orange Coast for a 6 p.m. contest. The Pirates had a 6-1 record heading into Friday night's action.