After sweeping through the first round of Western State Conference play, the Pirates' beach volleyball team split their first two matches of the middle round in play in Santa Barbara Friday. Ventura (13-2, 5-1) defeated Bakersfield 5-0 in their first contest before falling in a narrow 3-2 decision to host Santa Barbara in the second. VC's No. 3 pair of Katey Mulville and Averi Carter, along with No. 5 Kylie Ibbotson and Bryce Swain each recorded two wins on the day.
After dropping just one set through the first round of WSC matches, things continued looking good when Ventura swept Bakersfield in their first dual, 5-0. Grace Williams and Alba Romanos Gracia set the tone with their 21-5, 21-8 win at the No. 4 spot. From there, VC rolled through victories on all courts, with the final win coming at from Court 1 when Kayla Murdoch rattled off 10 straight points on her serve after a 5-5 switch to win the match 21-12, 20-22, 15-10 alongside partner, Autumn Rojelio Moreno.
The Pirates knew they were going to be challenged by the hosting team, SBCC, whose only loss this season came against Ventura. Courts 2 and 4 proved that things would not come easy, as the pairs were neck and neck through the first technical timeouts. Romanos Gracia and Williams couldn't hang on to their early lead and dropped the first match at No. 4 21-15, 21-14. After dropping their first set 21-11, Ventura's No. 2 pair of Olivia Sletten and Ashley Johnson pushed their match to a third set with a decisive 21-13 win in the second. The final set was an epic back-and-forth fight, packed with long rallies and loud cheers, but the Vaqueros squeaked out the 16-14 win.
Ventura was down 2-0, and knew they would have to win the rest of the match-ups to secure a team victory. The still undefeated pair of Ibbotson and Swain won in straight sets at the No. 5 spot, 21-17, 22-20. The No. 3 team of Mulville and Carter split their first two sets 16-21, 21-19 and were on their way to eventually capturing a 15-8 win in the third set.
Minutes earlier, Murdoch and Rojelio switched sides tied at 21-21 in the second set after dropping the first 19-21. Then, during a heroic defensive effort by Rojelio, she suffered a cramp and used a medical timeout, and the No. 1 pair lost 23-21 on a service ace the following point, sealing the SBCC team win. Ultimately, the Pirates fell 3-2 to the hosts, but were just a couple points away from a 3-2 victory.
Ventura now looks ahead to Friday April 7 when they host Santa Monica and Moorpark at the Harbor Cove courts to wrap up round two of conference play. It will be an all day event with the Pirates playing the first and last match of the day. First serve is scheduled for 9:00 am and the second dual will begin sometime between 1:00 and 2:00 pm.
Ventura 5, Bakersfield 0
1. Kayla Murdoch/Autumn Rojelio Moreno (VC) def. #11, #18 (BC), 21-12, 20-22, 15-5
2. Olivia Sletten/Ashley Johnson (VC) def. (BC), 21-7, 21-8
3. Katey Mulville/Averi Carter (VC) def. (BC), 21-4, 21-12
4. Grace Williams/Alba Romanos Gracia (VC) def. #4, #17 (BC)
5. Kylie Ibbotson/Bryce Swain (VC) def. (BC) [Forfeit]
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 2, 3, 1
Ventura 2, Santa Barbara 3
1. Kayla Murdoch/Autumn Rojelio Moreno (VC) Loss vs. #9, #6 (SBCC), 19-21, 21-23
2. Olivia Sletten/Ashley Johnson (VC) Loss vs. #5, #10 (SBCC), 11-21, 21-13, 14-16
3. Katey Mulville/Averi Carter (VC) def. #1, #11 (SBCC), 21-9, 21-19
4. Grace Williams/Alba Romanos Gracia (VC) Loss vs. Irey Therese Sandholt/Paige Rudi (SBCC), 15-21, 14-21
5. Kylie Ibbotson/Bryce Swain (VC) def. #2/#4 (SBCC), 21-17, 22-20
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 5, 1, 3
(contributed by Samantha Calisto)