The Pirates' women's water polo team split a pair of games Friday, the first day of the Battle at the Beach Tournament. Playing at Cerritos College, VC dropped a difficult 12-8 decision to Long Beach in the opener before rebounding for a 12-10 victory over Saddleback. Cali Iadevaia had a spectacular day with 10 goals, three steals and three drawn exclusions to lead Ventura (11-10, 4-2).
Ventura 8, Long Beach 12
The Pirates were unable to keep pace with the Vikings late, dropping the tournament opener Friday morning. VC trailed 5-4 at halftime and 10-8 at the end of three quarters of play before LBCC pulled away in the final period.
Iadevaia scored five goals with a pair of steals and Drew Reyes handed out three assists. Shayle Barrus scored one goal with three steals, and spent two quarters in the cage with a pair of saves. Raylynn Lipsky and Shaeleigh Russell each scored once with an assist. Haley Hall had five saves in two periods as goalie.
Ventura 12, Saddleback 10
Ventura used a strong opening period to set the tone, then held on for the victory over the Gauchos. VC raced out to a 5-1 advantage in the first four minutes of the game and led 7-4 at the end of the wild first quarter. Saddleback scored twice in the closing minutes of the second stanza to pull to within 9-7 at halftime. The Pirates led 11-8 at the end of three periods before posting the 12-10 win.
Iadevaia was solid once again with another five scores with two drawn exclusions. Barrus had one goal, one steal and four saves in the cage while Reyes scored once with two helpers and a steal. Shayne Naylor scored once with three steals, three drawn exclusions and an assist while Chloe Golden and Talullah Lund Sidi each had a goal with an assist and two steals. Abby Cocker also had a goal and a steal and Lipsky netted a score with two assists and a steal. Hall also recorded a pair of saves in goal.
The Pirates begin the final day of the tournament with a match up against Cerritos at 9:10 am on Saturday Oct. 20 at Cypress College. They will then play Cypress or Cuesta later in the day.