Women's volleyball team battles Cypress tonight
Oct 14, 2009
The Irvine Valley women's volleyball team will get its biggest test so far in Orange Empire Conference play when it hosts Cypress tonight at 6 p.m.
The Lasers, with a record of 7-0 overall and 3-0 in conference, are ranked fourth in the state.
Cypress, with a record of 9-3 overall and 2-1 in conference, is ranked fifth in the poll this week.
The Lasers stayed unbeaten with an easy 25-17, 25-14, 25-11 victory over Saddleback last Friday. Irvine Valley was paced by Katie Wilkerson with 11 kills and Carly Loucks with 10 kills while Nichole May had 11 digs and three aces. Caitlin Segert and Ellie Wiekamp each added eight kills. Setter Allie Hammer finished with 39 assists for the Lasers.
Cypress moved up a spot in the state rankings from sixth to fifth with a win and a tough loss last week.
It beat Fullerton in four games and then battled previously third-ranked Orange Coast last Friday, losing 15-12 in the fifth game.
The Chargers played the Pirates tough despite losing two starters to injuries in the match. Down two games to one, Cypress won the fourth set, 25-20, to force a fifth game.
The final game was tied, 12-12, before OCC captured the final three points. Katie Saavedra and Marina Samoa each finished with 17 kills for Cypress.
Samoa added 27 digs and Saavedra had 25 digs. Kelly Chiffer contributed 10 kills, six assists and seven digs and setter Giajaidra Vargas had with 44 assists.
IVC is paced by Wiekamp and Wilkerson, who are averaging 3.64 kills and 3.59 kills per game, respectively, Nichole May, who is averaging 3.50 digs per game, and setter Allie Hammer, who is averaging 11.29 assists per game.
Wiekamp and Wilkerson are both ranked in the top 15 in the state in kills and Hammer is second in the state in assists.
For Cypress, Marina Samoa was recently ranked third in the state in kills and Vargas was 10th in assists.