A year ago the Pirate volleyball team qualified for the post-season with some strong non-conference victories. On Wednesday night they recorded another with a 25-15, 25-17, 22-25, 25-18 victory over visiting Long Beach City College at the Athletic Event Center to move to 3-0 on the young season. Paris Dosch had a strong night in the middle with 14 kills and a pair of blocks to lead Ventura (3-0).
After trailing 4-1 early, VC raced to an 18-13 advantage, leading to a Viking timeout. Cassandra Lacanilao served the final four points to help the Pirates claim the 25-15 win.
Ventura rode their momentum to a 12-5 lead in the second set as Tori Hiott, who missed the season openers on Friday due to injury, came in with a strong kill. Kierra Joyner continued a strong serve as the Pirate advantage grew to 16-5. Long Beach closed to within 18-12 when Tatiana Gonzales killed a short set to put the Pirates back in control. Hiott's kill made it 20-12 and Ventura made the big lead hold up, taking the second set 25-17.
The Vikings, playing their first match of the season, showed signs of life in the third set, taking a 19-11 lead, forcing two Ventura timeouts in the process. A Hiott kill and a wide return by LBCC made the score 21-17 as the Pirates came back strong, but Long Beach took the set, 25-22.
The Pirates stormed back in the fourth set, taking an early 7-4 lead. Gonzales won a 50-50 ball over the net and Brittney Mukhar had a kill to put VC ahead 11-7. The Vikings managed to narrow the gap to a single point on numerous occasions, but the Pirates held fast, finally stringing together a series of winners behind Lacanilao's serve. Dosch had a big kill in the middle to give VC five straight winners and a 23-17 lead. A Lacanilao dig and a Hiott kill finally gave Ventura the match, winning the fourth set 25-18.
While Dosch led the offense in the middle, Mikhar continued her steady play with 10 kills, six digs and an ace. Hiott and Gonzales each recorded seven kills and Jessica Gomez had three blocks. Lacanilao had 17 digs while Jaimelene Salgado and Mikayla Spears had 24 and 20 assists, respectively.
Ventura returns to the court on Saturday Sept. 5 at the Pierce College Quad in Woodland Hills. The Pirates take on Glendale at 1:30 pm before playing Butte College at 6:00 pm.