The Pirates' women's water polo team used strong second and third quarters on Wednesday afternoon to roll past Los Angeles Valley 13-7 in Valley Glen. Ventura (6-2, 1-0), ranked No. 8 in the season's inaugural poll, outscored the Monarchs 9-2 over the middle periods in the victory. Daphne Neilan scored four goals in the decisive stanzas while Gabrielle MacNeill scored two of her three goals and Kendall Ribbers scored twice over the 16-minute span.
VC seemed to arrive late to the party and trailed 2-0 seven minutes into the game. Goals by Emily Baughn and Jessica Garcia in the final minute of the first quarter jump-started the Pirate offense, and they took over in the second quarter. VC netted three more scores early in the second, and followed a Monarch goal midway through the period with three more goals. Ventura led 8-3 at halftime.
After intermission the Pirates found the inside of the cage three more times to open an 11-3 advantage with 3:10 remaining in the quarter to put the game on ice.
Neilan added four steals, one assist and a drawn exclusion to her goal total while Ribbers drew three exclusions. Caitlyn Hilgenberg added a score in the second quarter to the Pirate effort. Kendal Santos pulled in three thefts with two assists and Savannah Packard also recorded three steals.
Ventura next hosts Cuesta on Wednesday Sept. 28. The game is set to begin at 4:30 pm at the Ventura Aquatic Center.