Ventura College student athletes excelled once again in the classroom in 2022-23, achieving an overall 3.29 grade point average in the fall and following that up with a 3.19 overall GPA in the spring semester. A total of 108 Pirates achieved a 3.5 GPA or higher, earning mention on the Dean's List in the fall 2022 term while taking in 12 or more units of study, with 53 student athletes recording a perfect 4.0 GPA. In spring 2023, 110 VC student athletes were named on the Dean's List with 45 posting perfect GPA's.
Volleyball and beach volleyball standout Kayla Murdoch and baseball star Reiss Calvin have been named the 2022-23 Ventura College Athletics Athletes of the Year. Recognized at the VC Athletic Hall of Fame and Student Athlete recognition Banquet last month, the pair each had record-setting seasons in their respective sports to earn the Pirates' top athletic honor.
VC volleyball's Nevada Knowles and Kayla Murdoch were both named first team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in December. The awards for the duo come on the heels of one of the most successful seasons in program history in which the Pirates posted a 23-2 record, winning its second straight Western State Conference North Division crown, and advancing to the Southern California Regional Finals for the second straight season.
The VC women's volleyball team capped off one of the best season's in school history with seven All-Western State Conference awards. Leading the way is WSC North Division Player of the Year Nevada Knowles, the second straight PoY award for the Pirate sophomore. Meanwhile freshmen Kayla Murdoch and Autumn Rojelio Moreno each earned first team ALL-WSC honors.
There was a point in the third set of Saturday's Southern California Regional Final volleyball match between Ventura and Grossmont that Kayla Murdoch took two great sets from Alba Ramanos Gracia and hit them exactly where she wanted, only to have the Griffins dig them off the floor and continue the point. That was the way it went form the shorthanded Pirates as they fell to Grossmont in four sets, 22-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-21. Murdoch led VC (23-2) with 24 kills with Ramanos Gracia handing out 22 assists and Autumn Rojelio Moreno recording 20 digs.
The VC volleyball team advanced in the Southern California Regional Playoffs with a 25-20, 25-29, 25-26 sweep over MiraCosta College Tuesday at the Athletic Event Center. Nevada Knowles led the top-seeded Pirates (23-1) with 38 assists and five digs while Kayla Murdoch recorded 23 kills and five services aces. Autumn Rojelio Moreno added 17 digs to lead the defensive effort against the No. 16-seeded Spartans.
The Ventura College women's volleyball team has earned the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Regional Playoffs that begin Saturday. VC (22-1) receives a first round by and will host the winner of No. 16 MiraCosta (18-8) and No. 17 Golden West (12-10) on Tuesday Nov. 22 at 6:00 pm. The Spartans and Rustlers will play on Saturday at 6:00 pm in Oceanside.
The VC volleyball team completed the best regular season in school history on Tuesday with a strong 25-14, 25-22, 29-27 sweep over Western State Conference South Division champion College of the Canyons at the Athletic Event Center. Kayla Murdoch recorded a double-double with 20 kills and 13 digs and Nevada Knowles dished out a season-high 36 assists as the WSC North champs took down the Cougars for the second time this season.
The VC volleyball team completed their outright Western State Conference North Division championship Wednesday with a 25-9, 25-15, 25-16 sweep of visiting Cuesta. Nevada Knowles handed out 22 assists and hit five service aces to lead the way and Kayla Murdoch had 11 kills with a .381 hitting percentage. Autumn Rojelio Moreno recorded 11 digs, Katey Mulville hit .400 with seven winners and Averi Carter accumulated four service aces in the victory for the Pirates (21-1, 9-1).
One day after inexplicably being knocked from Southern California's No. 1-ranking despite a six-match winning streak, the VC volleyball team avenged its only loss of the season with a strong 25-22, 25-22, 25-18 sweep over Santa Barbara Tuesday night at the Athletic Event Center. Kayla Murdoch hit 18 kills and Nevada Knowles recorded 32 assists as Ventura (20-1, 8-1) clinched at least a share of the Western State Conference North Division title for the second year in a row and the third time in four seasons.
Playing the second half of a home-and-home series against Los Angeles Mission, the Pirate volleyball team swept the Eagles for the second time in three days, 25-23, 25-7, 25-16 in Sylmar Friday evening. Kayla Murdoch led the way at the net with 13 kills and Nevada Knowles had 25 assists, six service aces and five blocks, two solo. Katey Mulville recorded eight winners and Averi Carter hit five in the triumph for Ventura (19-1, 7-1).
From their initial 9-0 run to open the match, the Pirate volleyball team was dominant Wednesday, defeating Los Angeles Mission 25-10, 25-14, 25-13 at the Athletic Event Center. Kayla Murdoch recorded 15 kills in 19 swings, a .789 clip, and Katey Mulville had six winners while hitting .600 for Southern California's top-ranked team. Nevada Knowles handed out 20 assists and Autumn Rojelio Moreno had 16 digs in the triumph. VC (18-1, 6-1) hit .515 as a team in the match with five errors in 66 swings at the net.
The VC women's volleyball team had an easy time with visiting Los Angeles Pierce on Friday, sweeping the Brahmas 25-14, 25-9, 25-18 at the Athletic Event Center. Kayla Murdoch led the balanced attack with nine kills and Nevada Knowles hit 0417 with five kills, 21 assists and eight digs. Katey Mulville had four kills in the triumph while Averi Carter and Kylie Ibbotson each recorded four winners. Autumn Rojelio Moreno led the defense with 12 digs.
In a battle of highly-ranked rivals, the No. 4-ranked Pirate volleyball team defeated No. 11 Moorpark 25-22, 23-25, 25-19, 27-25 Friday at Raider Pavilion. Kayla Murdoch's double-double of 20 kills and 16 digs paced Ventura (16-1, 4-1) while Nevada Knowles posted another triple-double of 17 kills, 25 assists and 12 digs. Amelie Zubia also recorded a double-double with 25 assists and 13 digs. Autumn Rogelio Moreno paced the defense with 26 digs and Katey Mulville hit 11 winners at the net.
The No. 4-ranked VC volleyball team traveled to San Luis Obispo on Friday, leaving Cuesta College with a 25-17, 25-12, 25-15 Western State Conference victory over the Cougars. The Pirates (15-1, 3-1) had a total team victory with 10 players recording a kill, nine defending with a dig, and seven assisting a score in the match. CCCCAA Female Athlete of the Month of September Nevada Knowles handed out 26 assists with eight digs and seven kills while Kayla Murdoch had 14 winners.
The VC volleyball team got back on track Wednesday with a 25-7, 25-23, 25-16 sweep at Los Angeles Pierce College. Southern California's top-ranked team bounced back after their first loss of the season last Friday. Kayla Murdoch led the way with 11 kills and a .500 hitting percentage and Katey Mulville recorded nine winners at .533. Nevada Knowles handed out 17 assists with five kills while Autumn Rojelio Moreno and Averi Carter each had nine digs.
The Pirate volleyball team had its 13-game winning streak come to an end Friday with a 25-23, 29-25, 25-20, 25-21 setback at Santa Barbara. Ventura, ranked No. 2 in the state, battled throughout but had a difficult night at the net hitting .162, their second-lowest total of the season. Nevada Knowles had another triple-double of 18 kills, 21 assists and 13 digs while Kayla Murdoch recorded 15 winners with nine digs and three block assists. Autumn Rojelio Moreno led the defense with 26 digs.
If a 20-20/Triple-Double did not exist in volleyball before Wednesday, VC's Nevada Knowles made sure it did after. The sophomore All-American had 20 kills, 21 assists and 10 digs in the No. 2-ranked Pirates' four-set victory over Moorpark in front of a large and vocal crowd at the Athletic Event Center. Ventura (13-0, 1-0) dropped the first set against the Raiders 25-20 before winning three straight, 25-19, 25-22, 25-23, in the opening game of their Western State Conference North Division schedule.
The VC volleyball team remained undefeated with a quick victory at Citrus College Friday in Glendora. The Pirates (12-0), ranked No. 2 in the state, swept the Owls 15, 11 and 11 to remain the only unbeaten team in Southern California. Nevada Knowles led the effort with 10 kills while hitting .562 and 14 assists. Kayla Murdoch, Katey Mulville and Kylie Ibbotson each had five kills in the balanced Pirate attack.
The No. 2-ranked Pirate volleyball team surged past visiting Bakersfield Wednesday, sweeping the renegades 25-21, 25-20, 25-15 at the Athletic Event Center. Kayla Murdoch was dominant at the net with 24 kills while hitting .606. Amelie Zubia handed out 22 assists. Autumn Rojelio Moreno recorded 19 digs as VC moved to 11-0 on the season.
Exorcizing ghosts is part of program development. The VC volleyball team did just that Friday. One season after falling twice to Canyons in five sets, the second time in the Regional Finals after holding a 2-0 lead, the Pirates defeated the Cougars 22-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-18 in Santa Clarita. Nevada Knowles had complete vision on the task at hand with a 20-20 performance, 23 kills, hitting .528, while handing out 27 assists. Kayla Murdoch recorded 20 winners and Amelie Zubia also dished out 27 helpers as Ventura moved to 10-0 on the season.
The top-ranked Pirate volleyball team continued its early season roll, sweeping past College of the Desert 16, 12, 14 Wednesday at the Athletic Event Center. VC, ranked No. 1 in Southern California and No. 2 in the state, easily defeated the Roadrunners behind 13 kills from Kayla Murdoch, seven winners from Nevada Knowles, and five kills each from Katey Mulville and Kylie Ibbotson. Ventura (9-0) had 40 kills in the match and hit a solid .329 offensively.
The Pirate volleyball team continued its early season roll Friday with a pair of 3-0 wins at the Pasadena City Quad. Ventura defeated Antelope Valley 25-10, 25-17, 25-11 before sweeping past Citrus 25-12, 25-19, 25-20. Sophomore Amelie Zubia showed the Pirates' depth with a team-high 28 assists on the day while Nevada Knowles and Kayla Murdoch continued their strong play. Autumn Rojelio Moreno anchored the defense with 27 digs in the two matches.
In their first road game of the year, the SoCal No. 1-ranked Ventura College volleyball team traveled to No. 9 Orange Coast, coming away with a 22-25, 25-17, 28-26, 25-23 victory. The "visiting" Pirates overcame a slow start, dropping just their second set of the season in the opener, before winning the next three over the "home" Pirates to claim the victory. Kayla Murdoch recorded 33 kills with an through-the-roof .520 hitting percentage while Nevada Knowles registered a triple-double of 31 assists, 15 kills and 12 digs.
The Ventura College volleyball team added two more sweeps to its resume for the young season defeating Golden West 25-22, 25-15, 25-15, and San Diego Mesa 25-22, 25-15, 25-19 Friday in the Pirate Classic Quad at the VC Athletic Event Center. Kayla Murdoch and Kylie Ibbotson led the charge in the first match of the day before Nevada Knowles nearly posted a triple-double in the nightcap.
Using a solid performance both offensively and defensively, the Pirate volleyball team swept past Pasadena City College Wednesday evening at the Athletic Event Center, 25-21, 25-18, 25-23. Kayla Murdoch led the offense with 17 kills and a .406 hitting percentage while Nevada Knowles handed out 27 assists and recorded 10 kills. Katey Mulville and Alexandria Donnelly each had three blocks and Autumn Rojelio Moreno led the defense with 13 digs.
The VC Athletic Department's fall seasons jump into full swing Labor Day weekend with six of the seven sports in action with the seventh opening it's season less than a week later. With the start of the new seasons, VC Athletics is excited to announce our promotional schedule for Fall 2022, beginning with a pizza party/tailgate party on Saturday Sept. 3 in partnership with the Associated Students of Ventura College.
The Pirate volleyball team had a pair of victories Friday in the VC Kick-Off Tri at the Athletic Event Center. Ventura overmatched Copper Mountain College in three sets, 25-8, 25-5, 25-7 in the first match before turning up the heat against Imperial Valley after dropping the first set, producing a 25-27, 25-13, 25-*7, 25-12 triumph. Kayla Murdoch recorded 21 kills in her orange and black debut while Nevada Knowles handed out 51 assists with 14 kills in the two wins.
After a banner year for Ventura College athletics in 2021-22, the Pirates are back in action to start the 2022-23 academic year. The season starts on Friday Aug. 26 with VC volleyball hosting its annual Kick-Off Tri with matches against Copper Mountain at 12:00 noon and versus Imperial Valley at 5:00 pm in the Athletic Event Center. The Pirate soccer team also kicks off Friday hosting College of the Canyons at 5:00 pm at the VC Sportsplex. Tickets for both teams' home contests are available online at https://ventura.vbotickets.com/events and can be bought and printed at home. Additionally, fans can scan a QR code at the door and purchase tickets on their smart device.