There was a point in the third set of Saturday's Southern California Regional Final volleyball match between Ventura and Grossmont that Kayla Murdoch took two great sets from Alba Romanos Gracia and hit them exactly where she wanted, only to have the Griffins dig them off the floor and continue the point. That was the way it went form the shorthanded Pirates as they fell to Grossmont in four sets, 22-25, 25-18, 25-12, 25-21. Murdoch led VC (23-2) with 24 kills with Romanos Gracia handing out 22 assists and Autumn Rojelio Moreno recording 20 digs.
VC played the match without All-American setter Nevada Knowles, who was unavailable to play due to illness. Starting opposite Kylie Ibbotson also played sparingly while wearing a mask, battling an illness as well. It was enough to send the Pirates, who were the best team in Southern California all year, fighting to preserve their dream season. And the Pirates fought hard the entire match!
Ventura came out strong behind Murdoch, who had four kills and an ace to keep VC even in the first set 9-9. Grossmont won five straight points at that point before Ventura came roaring back with its own five-point streak. The was knotted six times before Ventura claimed the final three points of the set to win 25-22.
First set is tied at 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22. But VC wins the last three points of the set to win the first set 25-22 on this Grossmont error. https://t.co/KQz30duTWJ pic.twitter.com/YGfV4dp4hp
— VCStar CollegeSports (@vcscolleges) November 27, 2022
Rojelio Moreno hit a pair of aces early in the second set as the Pirates continued to ride the momentum to a 5-3 advantage. Romanos Gracia hit a winner to even the set at 9-9 before the Griffins opened up a 15-12 lead. Grossmont continued to roll in the second set, evening the match with a 25-18 set victory.
The Griffins had the momentum on their side into the third set, winning five of the first six points, and building margins of 11-4 and 15-6. Murdoch attempted to bring VC back with a pair of kills, and Averi Carter hit an ace to pull the Pirates to within 15-9. A Grossmont timeout settled the Griffins down, however, as they won 10 of the final 13 points to take the third set 25-12.
In the fourth, VC was able to dig deep and continue to push for a decisive fifth set. The score was tied at 4, 6, 9 and 10, but Grossmont was able to gain the upper hand with a 16-13 lead. Katey Mulville answered with a winner and a Griffin error brought VC back to within 16-15. After a timeout, Grossmont scored five straight points to go ahead 22-16 before the Pirates had one last push. Murdoch had back-to-back kills and added a block at the net to cut the deficit in half and Ventura closed to within 23-21 before the Griffins closed out the match.
Murdoch added seven digs, three aces and three blocks to her performance and Romanos Gracia had six digs. Mulville recorded four kills with three blocks and Carter hit four winners with eight digs for the Pirates while Jocelyn Montoya had five digs in the match.
The loss does not diminish the accomplishments of the 2022 Pirates. VC's 23 wins in 2022 are the esecond most in program history and the team won the its second straight Western State Conference North Division title, the program's third in the past four seasons. Additionally, VC advanced to the Southern California Regional Playoffs for the third straight season and for the sixth time in the last eight seasons under head coach Brad Lyans, playing in the regional final for the third time in four seasons. With a strong group of returning players on the roster, the future looks bright for VC Pirate volleyball.