The VC volleyball team didn't mess around Wednesday night, easily disposing of visiting Los Angeles Pierce College 25-9, 25-17, 25-10 at the Athletic Event Center. In a make-up match originally scheduled for Oct. 11, the Pirates swept through the Brahmas behind eight kills from Victoria Whitney and a six-kill, nine-dig, five-ace performance from Raphaella Rosales. Ventura (12-9, 7-2) is locked into the runner-up spot of the Western State Conference North Division and a playoff berth appears imminent.
It was a runaway from the start as VC went ahead 5-1 with Rosales on the first serve. Brooklyn Wallet had back-to-back aces for a 14-6 Pirate advantage and Rosales served five consecutive winners for a 23-8 lead. A Brahma hitting error gave Ventura the first set 25-9.
Things were a little closer in the second set before VC began to pull away with a 9-5 lead. Morgan Gallagher had a huge back-line kill and Kassidy Wilson served up an ace to double up LAPC 14-7. Koko Kester had a winner to stretch the advantage to 17-9 before Wallet and Vanessa Ihrke each had winners for a 21-12 edge. Whitney had a big hit in the middle and another winner to move VC to the cusp, and Kester hit the winner at set point for a 25-17 Ventura win.
The Pirates pulled away quickly in the third set with Ihrke hitting a winner and Wallet providing a block for a 7-3 lead. Kayla Hosch had a winner and Kester served an ace to make it 10-7 before Ventura raced to a 20-7 advantage. Wallet sandwiched kills around two Pierce errors and Kester had the final kill to claim the match 25-10 in the final set.
Wallet finished with six kills in the match with a .417 hitting percentage while Gallagher and Kester each recorded three kills. Gallagher also had nine digs with a 2.25 passer rating. Julia Stalker, Wilson and Miranda Unzueta each had six digs in the balanced defensive effort for the Pirates. Wilson, Stalker and Gabby Boado had 11, 10, and nine assists, respectively.
Ventura will close out the regular season on Friday Nov. 15 with a home match against Santa Barbara City College. First serve is slated for 6:00 pm following a brief ceremony to honor the Pirates' sophomore class.