The Pirates' women's water polo team stretched their winning streak to five straight games Friday with a pair of home wins at the Ventura Tournament. VC defeated Merced 12-7 in their first contest of the day before defeating San Joaquin Delta 10-5 under the lights at the Ventura Aquatic Center. AnnMarie Patterson and Kelsee Espitia scored six and five goals, respectively, while Kendal Santos scored three times with three assists and six steals in the two-game set.
Ventura 12, Merced 7
The Pirates (15-3, 2-0), ranked No. 8 in the state, slowly but surely pulled away from the Blue Devils in their first game on Friday.
Ventura led 2-1 after one quarter on a pair of scores by Patterson, the second assisted by Espitia.
After Merced evened the score with 6:30 remaining until halftime, Patterson and Espitia each netted goals for a 4-2 halftime advantage.
The Blue Devils started the second half by sandwiching a pair of goals around a score by Ella Montano before Santos scored, followed by two goals from Espitia, to give the Pirates the 8-4 edge headed to the final period.
Montano and Santos hit back-to-back goals midway through the fourth to seal the deal in Ventura's 12-7 victory.
Patterson led the way with four goals and two drawn exclusions and Montano scored three times with two assists and two steals. Espitia also had three goals with a pair of helpers. Santos ended the contest with two goals and three assists with a steal. Ahna Davis was solid again in the cage with 14 saves, three steals and an assist in three quarters of play for the Pirates.
Ventura 10, San Joaquin Delta 5
It was a much easier game under the lights for VC in the nightcap as they built a 7-0 lead over the Mustangs through nine minutes of play. Five different players scored Ventura's six goals in the opening period with Espitia netting two scores in the first eight minutes. Summer McNabb's score with 6:58 remaining until halftime moved the Pirate margin to seven goals. VC played their entire active roster in the game with Patterson and Kendall Ribbers scoring late goals to set the final 10-5 margin.
Patterson and Espitia each scored two goals in the balanced attack while Santos grabbed five steals defensively in addition to scoring once. Ribbers added a goal with two assists and three thefts and Emily Baughn scored once with two assists, two steals and a drawn exclusion. Milla Malesich had an assist and two steals in the victory. Davis turned back seven Delta shots in the cage and Paige LeBaron had six saves in goal.
The Pirates conclude the Ventura Tournament Saturday Oct. 7 hosti9ng No. 10 Golden West at 10:30 am before taking on Mt. San Antonio at 4:45 pm in the tournament finale.