Irvine Valley's men's volleyball team began the 2026 campaign with a 25-23, 25-21, 25-23, defeat at LA Pierce on the road.
The Lasers, under the leadership of Rory Jones, will play their home opener on Friday night against Antelope Valley at 6 p.m.
Irvine Valley finished last season with a mark of 15-8 overall, went 9-5 in conference play and made 3C2A state quarterfinals before falling to Orange Coast in five sets (18-16 in the fifth).
The Lasers had their chances in each of the three sets on Wednesday, but hit just .237 on the night in the loss.
Irvine Valley was paced by freshman outside hitter Conor Engelbrecht, who finished with 12 kills, three digs, three blocks and had 13.5 points.
Sophomore opposite Jandel Ramirez had 11 kills, sophomore middle blocker Joshua Damianopoulos added eight kills and two blocks and freshman setter Ryan Surh ended with 19 digs for IVC.
