Irvine Valley's Annie MItchem picked as OEC MVP

After going undefeated and winning the Orange Empire Conference title, Irvine Valley's women's volleyball team swept the top honors when all-Orange Empire Conference accolades were announced earlier this week.

Red-shirt freshman middle blocker Annie Mitchem was named most valuable player and Tom Pestolesi earned coach of the year honors.

Irvine Valley also had three first-team and two second-team players.

Pestolesi led Irvine Valley to a 14-0 record in conference and a 20-0 mark through the regular season. His team, seeded first in the Southern California Regional Playoffs, won three straight matches, including beating No. 4 Santa Barbara City to reach the State Championships, which are this weekend at Foothill College.

The Orange Empire Conference championship was the fourth in program history.

"Coach of the year is because we won," Pestolesi said. "I give the credit to our assistant coaches who have done a great job and the players.

"It is nice to have talented players that work hard. It is all them."

The 6-2 Mitchem solidified her conference MVP status with an impressive performance in Irvine Valley's final match of the regular season.

She helped IVC rally back from two sets down to beat Golden West in five sets. Mitchem finished with 19 kills and hit .600 in the contest.

"She is as talented a young player as I have ever seen," said Pestolesi. "There might be kids that jump a little higher or hit a little harder, but you don't see someone that has the all-around game she has at such a young age. It is remarkable.

Through the regular season, she averaged 3.39 kills and 1.64 blocks per set. She was also hitting .454. The blocks and hitting percentage led the conference and her kills ranked third.

In conference matches alone, she hit an even better .463 and racked up 3.49 kills and 1.62 blocks per set.

"She has another gear, another level and we saw that in several matches this year," Pestolesi said. "When that comes out, it is impressive."

Mitchem led the team in kills in 13 matches during the regular season and nine times in conference.

"And I don't think she even understands just how good she can be," Pestolesi said. "That will be part of the maturing process. She has been great, but she can be even better."

Irvine Valley's first team all-conference players included freshman setter Hailey Jones, freshman outside hitter Marisa Doran and sophomore libero Becky Moodie. Jones led the conference in assists per set.

It was Moodie's second-straight first team honor.

Golden West, which tied with Cypress for second place in conference, also had three first team all-conference honorees.

They were freshman outside hitter Jordyn Sanchez, sophomore outside hitter Tyler Davis and freshman middle blocker Drucilla Gauta. Sanchez, paced the conference in kills per set and overall kills, while Gauta was second in the conference in hitting percentage.

Cypress had two first-team all-conference picks. They were sophomore middle blocker Ani Green and sophomore libero Holly Webster. Webster led the conference in overall digs.

Fullerton, which placed third in conference, had freshman outside hitter Madelene Barrett and sophomore libero Celeste Snider as first-team selections. Snider, who was also named first team in 2012, ranked second in digs per set in the conference.

Orange Coast and Riverside also placed two players each on the first team for all-conference.

Freshman outside hitter Sierra Brown and freshman libero Carina Perez were named for the Pirates and sophomore outside hitters Deborah Catanese and Cherylain Dizon earned honors for Riverside.

Perez led the conference in digs per set. It was Dizon's second straight first-team selection.

Irvine Valley players named to the second team included sophomore opposite Alexis Radecki and freshman outside hitter Kobi Pekich.

Coach of the Year

Tom Pestolesi                        Irvine Valley