Irvine Valley's women's beach volleyball team had the pairs of freshmen Jolie Rasmussen and Barett Nolan, freshmen Jaclyn Sanchez and Emily Guenter, freshmen Gabi Brown and Sevilla Leuteneker and sophomore Diamonique Brogan and freshman Chloe Swanson each qualify to the So. Cal. Regionals event May 6-7 at El Camino College.
The Lasers had four teams compete at the Orange Empire Conference Pairs Tournament on Wednesday and Friday and all four moved on.
They also finished with the top two squads. Rasmussen and Nolan and Sanchez and Guenter reached the final on Friday afternoon and were named co-champions.
Leuteneker and Brown were the upset pair of the tournament. The duo, which was seeded 28th, had to win a play-in match just to get into the actual bracket. The two then made a run all the way to the semifinals of the event.
Rasmussen and Nolan and Sanchez and Guenter were named the players of the year in the conference and Brown and Leuteneker were each named first team all-conference.
The top eight pairs earned first-team honors.
IVC's Brogan and Swanson won the final match of the day to earn the 11th and final spot from the conference. Brogan and Swanson were earned second team all-conference honors.
Eleven pairs from OEC schools qualified.
Orange Coast and Fullerton each had three pairs move on.
The Pirates' top team was Rachel Blair and Brisa Zapada-Reaves, which finished fifth, while Fullerton's high-placing duo was Faith Webb and Chloe Johnson. Webb and Johnson were sixth.
Cypress had one team qualify with Tainea Allen and Jordon Wilson, placing third overall.
The players will be trying to qualify from next week's regional at El Camino to make the California Community College Athletic Association State Championships May 13-14 at Irvine Valley.
All 12 pairs earned all-Orange Empire Conference honors
