Cats stun Lasers for share of lead

The Saddleback women's volleyball team moved into a tie for first place in the Orange Empire Conference with a 3-1 win against Irvine Valley College on Friday night inside the gymnasium.  The Bobcats trailed 0-1 before rallying to beat the high-powered Lasers.

Saddleback dropped the opening game, 19-25, and had some of the faithful wondering if the Bobcats were just going to be another team to bend to the will of the Lasers.  The Bobcats were then down 19-24 in the second set and appeared to be on their way to a second straight loss to open the night.  Saddleback then flipped the script completely and mounted a massive comeback, rallying for a 29-27 win in game two to even the match.

Irvine Valley started the third set by taking a 7-4 lead, when suddenly the match took a twist.  Saddleback went on a 16-2 run to take a commanding lead, with Irvine Valley searching for answers.  They never did find them, as the Bobcats cruised to a 25-15 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Saddleback continued to roll through the beginning of fourth set, taking an 11-5 lead on the Lasers as IVC looked rattled.  The Lasers then pulled themselves together and rallied to tie the score at 14-14 in the critical fourth set.  The teams went back and forth until the late stages when Saddleback made another run to pull out the 25-22 victory. 

Saddleback is now 15-4 overall and 10-2 in the Orange Empire Conference.  The Bobcats are now tied with the Lasers for first place in conference play…two games in front of Cypress College. 

Saddleback will hope to extend its hot pay on Wednesday when it travels to Riverside City College to take on the Tigers.  Saddleback and Riverside City are scheduled to start at 6:00 PM.