Published on October 20, 2009
After a sluggish start Tuesday night, the Ventura College Pirates’ volleyball team had a storybook ending, sweeping the Allan Hancock Bulldogs in three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-18).
Freshman middle blocker Kayla Phipps, who had eight kills and three blocks, believed that the Pirates needed to step up their game in order to make up for their lackluster start.
“We had to pick up our game a lot,” she said. “Make sure we did what we needed to do [as a team].”
Sophomore setter Justine O’Connor led the Pirates with 22 assists, 12 kills, and 15 digs, while middle blocker Anne Westbrook added three crucial aces in the victory.
The Pirates (7-7, 2-1 WSC) struggled early, trailing the Bulldogs (4-7, 1-2 WSC) 3-0 in the first set. After Shelby Younce tipped a ball over the Bulldogs’ defense, the Pirates were able to get back into the set.
In a set that featured eight lead changes and eight ties, it looked like neither team would be able to pull away and take the set. However, a Westbrook kill gave the Pirates a 21-20 lead, and they pulled off four straight points to take the first set 25-20.
The second set was similar to the first, with both teams swinging the lead back and forth like a pendulum. The Pirates were once again able to seal the set on a Sandra Alvarez kill, which gave them their biggest lead of the set 22-16. They eventually won the set 25-19.
The Bulldogs appeared distraught after dropping the first two sets, and looked like they wanted to pack their bags early and head back to Santa Maria. After taking the first point on a Pirate service fault, the Bulldogs gave up seven straight points to the Pirates and trailed by as many as 11.
The Pirates appeared to be on their way to an easy sweep before the Bulldogs fought back, going on a 10-3 run to cut the lead to 4 points.The run proved to be too little too late for the Bulldogs, however, and Phipps guaranteed the sweep on a tip that went over the net and fell aimlessly to the ground in front of Bulldog defenders, giving the Pirates a 20-15 lead.
Westbrook served an ace on the match point to turn the final pages on the Pirates’ storybook ending.
Head coach Mandy Arnold-Rodriguez believed that her team was able to take the match in three sets because the Pirates were able to slowly get better and better as the match progressed.
“I think the girls did a good job improving as the game went on,” she said. “That’s why they were able to finish in three [sets].”