WOMEN'S WATER POLO: The Pirates' women's water polo team won a pair of matches to begin the Battle at the Beach Tournament hosted by Long Beach City College on Friday. VC came from behind to defeat Southwestern 12-9 in the morning match before coming back and dominating Rio Hondo 18-10 in the afternoon. Ashley Runyon netted eight goals in the two matches with five assists while Lauren McCaslin scored seven goals with four assists and four steals. Vanessa Vega turned back 31 shots in goal for VC (12-8-1, 3-1).
Ventura 12, Southwestern 9
The Pirates used a strong second half to overcome a 6-1 halftime deficit in the win. Runyon had four goals and Jerilyn Hollis scored three to lead Ventura. Cecily Loya handed out four assists while Scarlett Lund-Sidi and Runyon each recorded two assists. Vega had 17 saves, including six in the fourth quarter of action to preserve the victory.
Ventura 18, Rio Hondo 10
VC raced out to a 6-1 lead in the first quarter and never looked back against the Roadrunners. McCaslin found the back of the net six times with three assists, three steals, and four drawn ejections. Runyon scored four goals and handed out three assists. Meanwhile, Hollis also scored three times with an assists, three drawn ejections and a steal and Brittany McWaid dished out three assists. Vega registered 14 saves for the Pirates.
VC will close the tournament with a pair of matches on Saturday Oct. 26. They will play conference foe Cuesta at 9:40 am before battling Cerritos at 3:40 pm. Ventura resumes Western State Conference play on Wednesday Oct. 30 at Los Angeles Valley before closing the regular season at the Pasadena Mini Tournament on Friday Nov. 1.