In a battle of ranked women's volleyball teams the State No. 20-ranked Pirates (13-3, 2-1) pushed the No. 1 Los Angeles Pierce Brahamas to four sets before falling on Friday night in Woodland Hills. Brittney Mukhar picked up 14 kills and six digs in the match, while Mikayla Spears and Jaimelene Salgado had 17 and 13 assists, respectively.
The Pirates came out firing in the first set looking for the upset over the Brahamas, who suffered their first loss of the year on Wednesday. VC captured the opening set 25-23, before dropping the second, 25-17. Looking to reclaim the match lead in the third set, Ventura fell behind early and were unable to overcome the deficit, falling 25-17 to go down two sets to one.
Needing a victory to force a decisive fifth set, the Pirates refused to go quietly. The teams traded leads in a tightly contested fourth set, and the Pirates held a 21-19 advantage late. Pierce tied the score at 23-23 before retaking the advantage. Ventura fought off one match point to force the the set into extra points before dropping the set, 26-24.
The loss snapped a seven match winning streak for the Pirates and was their first setback in a tough Western State Conference North Division. Tori Hiott added eight kills to go with four digs and three aces. Cassandra Lacanilao had 14 digs to lead the Pirates' defensive effort.
Ventura will return home to take on Allan Hancock College on Wednesday Oct. 14. The match is slated to begin at 7:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center. The Pirates also host Moorpark on Friday Oct. 16, also at 7:00 pm.