The Pirate volleyball team jumped all over visiting Canyons in the first set Wednesday night, but could not maintain the momentum in the 3-1 loss to the Cougars at the Athletic Event Center. Braxton Jessie had 14 kills and nine digs for VC in the four-set match while Mikayla Spears handed out 41 assists with 11 digs.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair early, before kills from Paris Dosch and Armonee Hunter gave the Pirates some breathing room. A big-time dig and a back line kill from Jessie gave the Pirates a 19-12 advantage. VC moved to set-point on a Dosch kill at 24-16 and they won the opener, 25-19 on Paulina Iverson's tip.
The Cougars came roaring back in the second set, evening the match with a 25-11 set win.
In the third, the Pirates faced a one point deficit a number of times, 31-12, 14-13, and 16-15 but could not get over the hump to tie the score. They fell behind 20-16 and came back to within 21-20, but once again could not win a service point to even things up. Canyons eventually prevailed in the set, 25-21.
The Pirates found the sailing difficult in the fourth set. Battling fatigue and an opponent riding strong momentum, VC fell 25-15 to close the match.
Dosch, Hunter and Brianna Finch all had nine kills in the match for VC and Sariah Flores recorded a team-high 18 digs. Iverson also had nine digs for the Pirates.
Ventura will return home on Friday Sept. 30 for a 7:00 pm match against visiting Glendale.