Orange Empire Conference women's volleyball title up for grabs

The last two seasons, the Irvine Valley women's volleyball team has dominated the Orange Empire Conference.

The Lasers didn't lose a match in conference either year.

But a number of teams will have a legitimate shot to be this year's OEC champion.

When the second state rankings of the season by the California Community College Women's Volleyball Coaches Association were released on Sept. 28, four teams were ranked in the top 25 and that didn't include the squad with the best record heading into conference play.

Cypress was ranked seventh in the state and fifth in Southern California, Irvine Valley was ranked 14th in the state and ninth in Southern California, Golden West was sitting at No. 24 in the state and No. 14 in Southern California and Riverside was 25th in the state and 15th in Southern California in the latest poll.

Orange Coast (with the best record through pre-conference action) and Fullerton are also expected to be factors in the race for the 2015 OEC title.

With conference play starting on Friday, Oct. 2, here is a brief recap of what each team (in alphabetical order) has done so far. 

Cypress (9-5) - Cypress won its home opener on Wednesday night, out-lasting Mt. SAC in a five-set thriller, 25-19, 29-27, 23-25, 22-25, 15-11. Madison May led the way with 22 kills while Raquel Medina landed 13 kills and a team-high five service aces. Rockelle Gholson contributed with a team-high five solo blocks along with two assist blocks and Emily Witz had 12 digs to help the Chargers grind out a victory. May is averaging 4.08 kills per set for the Chargers. Nicole Mankey averages 2.67 kills and Medina averages 2.20 kills per set. Witz is averaging 2.03 digs with Dominique Parker averaging 1.68 digs. Pamela Fa'Alata runs the offense and is averaging 9.69 assists per set. Cypress has solid wins over the likes of Palomar, Bakersfield, Orange Coast, El Camino and Mt. SAC so far this season. Cypress won the Cerritos tournament with its four-set win over El Camino two weeks ago. May was named the tournament MVP. 

Fullerton (5-3) - Fullerton is riding a three-match win streak heading into conference. The Hornets swept all three of those opponents. It beat Mt. SAC last week and then defeated both Cerritos and Gavilan in the Fullerton three-way tournament event. Fullerton's three losses were to state-ranked teams Santa Barbara City, MiraCosta and Ventura. Fullerton has five players averaging at least 1.52 kills per set, led by Alex Winfield at 2.31 kills and Larreya Hayden at 2.06 kills. Winfield is also averaging 1.66 kills per set. Mikki Sale averages 1.89 digs per set, while Carley Bergen averages 5.10 assists and Winfield averages 4.17 assists per set. 

Golden West (4-4) - Golden West has won two of its last three matches and the one it lost was a tight one. It fell to Santa Barbara City in five sets with the final set being 22-20 in an event at Pierce College last week. In fact, three of Golden West's four losses have come in five sets and all to good teams. Santa Barbara City is ranked sixth in the state, MiraCosta is ranked 13th in the state and Bakersfield is ranked 21st in the state. Golden West is coming off a 25-16, 25-18, 25-19 win at Long Beach City on Wednesday night. Cassidy Paperny finished with 16 kills and hit .467 and Alyson Utke and Marina Adolpho each had 10 kills. Kelsey Osgood finished with 14 digs, Adolpho had nine digs and Utke and Megan Sanchez each had eight digs. Sanchez ran the team with 35 assists on the night. Adolpho averages 3.52 kills, Paperny averages 3.29 kills and Utke averages 3.26 kills per set. Osgood is averaging 3.86 digs, Adolpho averages 2.85 digs and Utke is averaging 2.56 digs per set, while Sanchez is averaging a team-best 6.65 assists per set. 

Irvine Valley (3-3) - Irvine Valley had seven sophomores from its 2015 state championship team move on to play at four-year schools, including four at the Division 1 level, so coach Tom Pestolesi has been relying on some new faces in 2015. The Lasers have been up and down so far. They snapped a two-match losing streak with consecutive sweeps on the road at Moorpark and Antelope Valley. IVC lost to four-year Vanguard, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19, on the road on Tuesday night. IVC has been paced thus far by sophomores Kayla Scheevel, Hannah Matt, Emily Reinking and Jenna Olbright and freshman Hailey Riden. Scheevel is averaging 3.18 kills and 2.94 digs per set, Matt is averaging 3.24 kills, Reinking averages 3.59 digs, Olbright is averaging 10.59 assists and Riden is averaging 2.25 kills and hitting .649. 

Orange Coast (8-1) - Orange Coast has won eight of its first nine matches to begin the season with the only loss coming to Cypress in three sets in the Cerritos Tournament earlier in September. Orange Coast has won its last six matches in a row with the last five being in straight sets. Orange Coast last played on Sept. 23 and swept Citrus, 25-23, 25-11, 25-17. Danyelle Brown led the way for the Pirates with 20 kills, while Katie Duhoux chipped in 10. Setter Measha Lindstrand dished out 31 assists and Alisa Ricciardi anchored the defense with 12 digs. Brown leads the conference so far, averaging 4.79 kills per set. She is also averaging 4.97 digs per set. Lehua Alama-Jordan averages 2.48 kills and Kerrigan Hecht is averaging 2.25 kills per set. Ricciardi averages 6.00 digs per set, which leads the conference, and Duhoux averages 4.16 digs per set. And Lindstrand is averaging 11.28 assists and 2.66 digs per set. 

Riverside (7-1) - Riverside won its third straight match and swept its third straight opponent on Tuesday night, beating San Bernardino Valley on the road, 25-16, 25-6, 25-17. Four players had at least five kills in the match for the Tigers. Lauren Wells and Lauren Reed led the way with seven kills each. Wells also had seven digs. Sabrina Gonzaga added nine digs and had 10 aces and Melissa Moe contributed 19 assists and five digs. On the season so far, Wells is averaging 3.36 kills per set, Reed is averaging 2.92 kills and hitting .342 and Amanda Barker is averaging 2.04 kills and 2.96 digs per set. Gonzaga averages 4.22 digs, Nyomi Ward is averaging 1.04 blocks and Moe is averaging 8.93 assists and 1.89 digs per set. 

Saddleback (3-5) - The Gauchos have a 3-5 record overall under first-year coach Brian Hughes. The Gauchos won their first three matches of the season. They finished their pre-conference schedule with a 3-0 loss to East Los Angeles at home last week. Kaylee Douglass had 11 kills in the match for Saddleback. Douglass is averaging 2.71 kills and 2.68 digs per set, while Chasticy Gonzales is averaging 2.48 digs per set and Kelly Hill is averaging 5.96 assists, 1.22 kills and 1.89 digs per set. 

Santa Ana (1-6) - Santa Ana recorded its first win of the season on Wednesday night, sweeping Cuyamaca, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23 at home. Chloe Anderson, Trinh Nguyen and Filana Duvan lead the Dons. Anderson is averaging 2.95 kills per set, while Nguyen averages 4.55 digs per set and Duvan averages 4.05 digs per set.