The VC men's water polo team dropped their final two games of the Cuesta Tournament Saturday in San Luis Obispo. The Pirates (8-10, 2-2) fell to American River College 11-7 in the morning contest before dropping a 22-13 decision to Merced in the tournament finale. Ryan Reardon had nine goals on the day and Austin Brunk scored four times with four assists, three steals and four field blocks. Gabriel Ibarra netted three scores with three drawn ejections on the day.
Ventura 7, American River 11
After a solid start, the Pirates slowly lost ground against the Beavers over the final three quarters. The game was tied 2-2 at the quarter break, and VC trailed ARC 5-4 at halftime. Brunk had three goals, three assists, three steals and three field blocks to lead the way. Reardon netted three scores with a steal and a drawn ejection while Brandyn Robles handed out a pair of helpers with two steals, a field block and one drawn ejection. Jake Peters also scored for Ventura and Daniel Mclean recorded three saves and three blocks.
Ventura 13, Merced 22
The Pirates were playing their fifth game in two days, and the fatigue was evident in the setback. VC fell behind 7-1 after one quarter and trailed 10-5 at halftime. Reardon scored six times with an assist and four drawn ejections and Ibarra had three goals and two assists. Carlos Lugo had a score with one assist and a steal and Brunk also scored one goal with one assist. Dru Coronado also netted a goal while Robles handed out three helpers with three thefts.
VC next travels to the Santa Monica Mini Tournament on Friday Oct. 25 for a pair of games.