Traveling to the far reaches of Southern California, the Pirate volleyball team split a pair of matches at the Imperial Valley Tournament Saturday. VC (3-3) lost to Arizona Western College 25-16, 25-17, 26-24 before rebounding to top host Imperial Valley College 25-16, 15-25, 25-17, 25-19. Armonee Hunter led Ventura with 26 kills in the two matches while Mikayla Spears handed out 51 assists on the day.
Ventura 0, Arizona Western 3 (25-16, 25-17, 26-24)
VC could not find answers against the undefeated Lady Matadors, who play in the NJCAA's Arizona Community College Athletic Conference. Hunter had nine kills while Braxton Jessie recorded seven kills and 12 digs. Spears was credited with 18 assists in the match while Rachel Howery had nine helpers. Sariah Flores had nine digs in the loss.
Ventura 3, Imperial Valley 1 (25-16, 15-25, 25-17, 25-19)
Hunter continued her strong play with 17 kills and seven digs to lead the Pirates to victory over the host Lady Arabs. Spears had 33 assists and 19 digs in the four-set match and Flores had 22 digs. Paris Dosch had eight winners and nine digs while Bryanna Lovingood finished with seven kills. Howery handed out 13 assists.
Ventura will return home on Friday Sept. 9 for its first match under the newly installed lights in the Athletic Event Center against Cal Lutheran's JV team. The match is set to begin at 7:00 pm.