The Ventura College women's water polo team traveled to the San Diego Tournament hosted at Miramar College on Friday and Saturday, falling to some of the top programs in the state before finishing up the weekend with a 9-8 victory over Palomar College. Cali Iadevaia netted 11 scores over the four games and Shayle Barrus ended the run with 27 saves in the cage for VC (6-6, 1-1).
Ventura 5, Cypress 11
Coming off the long drive south, the Pirates had a difficult time handling the Chargers. The were outscored 4-2 in each of the first two quarters, setting up a tough second half. Shaeleigh Russell had a pair of goals with a drawn exclusion and Talullah Lund Sidi scored once with three steals and three drawn exclusions. Raylynn Lipsky had one gaol, two assists and a steal while Iadevaia had a goal and an assist. Haley Hall led the goalie-by-committee crew with three saves while Sophia Anorga and Barrus each recorded two saves in the cage.
Ventura 9, San Diego Mesa 12
In Friday's second game, the Pirates hung tough with San Diego Mesa College, falling 12-9. The Pirates got on the board early, but then allowed three straight scores by the Olympians to fall behind. VC pulled to within one goal, 5-4, midway through the second period but could not manage to tie the game. Iadevaia scored three goals with a pair of helpers and a steal while Chloe Golden scored twice with three assists, one steal and four drawn exclusions. Shayne Naylor had two scores and three steals and Lund-Sidi dished out two assists. Lipsky recorded one goal and a pair of thefts and Barrus stopped seven shots in the cage.
Ventura 3, Sierra 10
Saturday's opener was difficult against the state runner-up from a year ago. Sierra pulled away with seven goals in the second half in defeating the Pirates 10-3. Naylor, Iadevaia and Lipsky all had one goal for Ventura while Barrus had 10 saves with three steals. Drew Reyes added an assist and two steals and Golden grabbed three thefts.
Ventura 9, Palomar 8
In the tournament finale, Ventura held off Palomar to claim the 9-8 victory. VC turned a 5-5 halftime score into a 9-6 advantage at the third quarter break to take control of the game. Iadevaia was dominant with six goals, four drawn exclusions, two steals and an assist to lead the Pirates. Russell had three goals and three drawn exclusions while Barrus anchored the defense with eight saves and a pair of steals. Reyes handed out three assists with two thefts and Lund-Sidi had two helpers with four thefts.
The Pirates next host the annual Ventura Tournament Friday and Saturday Oct. 5 and 6 at the Ventura Aquatic Center. They will play two games each day, beginning with Santa Monica in a Western State Conference game on Friday at 10:50 am.