The Moorpark College men’s volleyball team knows how to fight to the finish. In the first real match of the season, the team went to five sets against Irvine Valley College, before falling 18-16 in the fifth set.

The Raiders (0-1) got off to a slow start, losing 30-24 and 30-22 in the first two sets, but they seemed to get their stride back somewhere between the second and third games.

Raiders head coach Steve Burkhart believed the team’s anxiety caught up with them in the first two sets.

“The first two games, we played a little nervous,” said Burkhart. “But then the tide turned, [Irvine] made more hitting errors, and we played better.”

Sophomores Josh Howley and Kyle Auge were the big hitters for Moorpark, with Howley getting 16 kills and three blocks while Auge added 18 kills and four blocks.

It was clear that the Raiders felt comfortable in game three, when the Lazers (1-0) were forced to call two timeouts, trailing by 10 points at one time, and freshman Eric Varney was able to serve six straight side outs.

Burkhart felt his team was able to wake up and play hard in the third set.

“I thought we just came out in the third game and played our game,” said Burkhart.

Auge was also able to get four aces in the third and fourth sets, helping the Raiders solidify their 30-21 and 30-15 wins.

With the score tied at two sets a piece, it all came down to the final set.

The Raiders had a slow start as the Lazers scored three points early on, but following a timeout, Howley was able to connect with sophomore Adam Quinn to get a side-out.

The rest of the game was close, as Auge had a long-blocking rally at 6-6 which resulted in mental mistakes on both sides.

Sophomore Brendan Keane had 14 digs, Varney had 18 digs and Quinn had 60 assists for the night.

The Raiders fought hard at match point, resulting in the longest rally of the night, but the Lazers were able to clinch the match by hitting off the block.

However, Burkhart was not discouraged in the close loss.

“This is a long season,” he said. “This match won’t determine whether we make it into the championships or not.”

The Raiders’ next home game is against the Moorpark Alumni on Friday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.