The Pirate volleyball team opened up Western State Conference play with a four-set victory at Allan Hancock College Friday in Santa Maria. VC (7-11, 1-0) was led by Paris Dosch and Brianna Finch with 11 and 10 digs, respectively, and by Sariah Flores with 32 digs.
The Pirates easily claimed the first two sets, 25-9 and 25-17 before the Bulldogs came back to take the third, 26-24. Ventura closed out the match in the fourth set with a 25-12 win.
Mikayla Spears and Rachel Howery each handed out 18 assists in the match while Finch and Flores had four and three service aces, respectively. Defensively Emily Johnson recorded 11 digs and Carina Cates and Paulina Iverson each had three blocks.
VC will host Cuesta on Wednesday Oct. 19. The match against the Cougars is set to begin at 7:00 pm at the Athletic Event Center.