Irvine Valley sweeps Golden West on Dig Pink night

Irvine Valley's women's volleyball team made its annual Dig Pink night a success on and off the court.

The Lasers, ranked No. 2 in the state, defeated  No. 9 Golden West, 25-11, 25-19, 25-12, to run their record to 15-0 overall and 8-0 in the Orange Empire Conference.

Golden West, which had been riding a two-match win streak, dropped to 12-5 overall and 4-4 in conference.

The night featured a pink Asics t-shirt giveaway to all fans in attendance as well as raffles and prizes. All proceeds associated with the match will be donated to the Side-Out Foundation's Dig Pink Project to support breast cancer awareness.

Irvine Valley played one of its best sets of the season to open up on Wednesday night.

The Lasers scored seven of the first eight points. Freshman opposite Juju Cannon had three kills and one block in the hot start for IVC.

Up, 13-6, in the first set Irvine Valley continued to stretch its lead. A block and then kill by sophomore outside hitter Marisa Doran gave IVC a 14-7 advantage.

An ace by sophomore setter Hailey Jones and a kill by freshman middle blocker Hannah Matt put Irvine Valley ahead, 18-7.

Up, 23-11, Irvine Valley closed out the set behind back-to-back kills by sophomore middle blocker Annie Mitchem.

Irvine Valley never trailed in the second set, but it was a lot closer.

The Lasers led comfortably, 23-16, after a kill by Doran, but Golden West scored three points in a row.

IVC was able to end the set with a kill by Doran and then a Rustler hitting error.

Irvine Valley cruised in the final set.

Ahead, 8-5, Irvine Valley went on a 10-4 run capped by a kill by Mitchem to move in front, 18-9.

A block by Cannon gave IVC a 21-11 advantage. After Golden West scored a point on a kill by Gabi Nguyen, Irvine Valley scored the final four points of the match.

Matt and Mitchem recorded kills, Golden West hit out and on match point, Cannon and sophomore outside hitter Carleigh Petersen combined for a block.

Mitchem, the reigning AVCA Two-Year College National Player of the Year, had another big night.

She finished with 12 kills, 10 digs and five blocks. Mitchem, who leads the state in hitting percentage, also hit .579.

Doran finished with 10 kills and a team-high 16 digs, while Cannon contributed nine kills and six blocks.

Sophomore outside hitter Kobi Pekich and Matt each had six kills, freshman defensive specialist Emily Reinking added seven digs and Jones, who ranks second in the state in assists, had 42 assists and nine digs in the victory.

Irvine Valley plays another conference match on Friday, traveling to Riverside.