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Pirates Sweep Their Way to State Championships

The Ventura College beach volleyball team sailed into uncharted waiters Tuesday hosting the Southern California Playoffs at the Ventura Harbor Courts. The top-seeded Pirates advanced to the CCCAA State Championships for the first time in program history by sweeping past No. 9 Moorpark and No. 8 Long Beach. VC's No. 1 pair of Kayla Murdoch and Autumn Rojelio Moreno clinched both matches while the No. 4's Alba Romanos Gracia and Grace Williams closed out each sweep.

Pirates Sweep Their Way to State Championships
May 2, 2023

The Ventura College beach volleyball team sailed into uncharted waiters Tuesday hosting the Southern California Playoffs at the Ventura Harbor Courts. The top-seeded Pirates advanced to the CCCAA State Championships for the first time in program history by sweeping past No. 9 Moorpark and No. 8 Long Beach. VC's No. 1 pair of Kayla Murdoch and Autumn Rojelio Moreno clinched both matches while the No. 4's Alba Romanos Gracia and Grace Williams closed out each sweep.

Ventura (21-2) reached the 20-win plateau in the opener with their fourth sweep over Moorpark this season. Bryce Swain and Kylie Ibbotson posted the first point of the match at No. 5, defeating the Raiders 21-11, 21-9 before Averi Carter and Katey Mulville closed out the No. 3 slot 21-10, 21-9. Ventura's No. 1 duo Rojelio and Murdoch clinched the win with a 21-19, 21-15 triumph and Ashley Johnson and Olivia Sletten won 21-19, 21-6 in the No. 2 match-up. Romanos Gracia and Williams ended the sweep with a close 21-19, 21-18 victory at No. 5.

After Long Beach swept Moorpark in the second match of the day, the Pirates-Viking contest became a winner-take-all affair with a trip to state on the line.

Swain and Ibbotson took off early and never looked back, racing to a big lead at No. 5. Romanos Gracia and Williams fell behind early in the first set while the other three matches went back and forth. VC's No. 5's were the first to take a set while the No. 3's, No. 1's and No. 2's pulled away late to each go ahead by a set on their courts, 21-13, 21-14, 21-17, respectively. Meanwhile, the No. 4 pair came back from a large deficit before falling in their first set, 21-15.

Swain and Ibbotson turned their close second set into a runaway, winning 21-14 to capture VC's first point of the match. Romanos Gracia and Williams came back strong to force a decisive third set 21-14 before Mulville and Carter, and Murdoch and Rojelio closed out their wins in quick succession to seal the victory for the Pirates, 21-14 and 22-20, respectively. Johnson and Sletten made it 4-0 a short time later with their 21-10 win in their second set, leaving the 4's for the sweep. Romanos and Gracia battled with their opponents from Long Beach, each turning back match-points before the Pirate pair won two straight points for the 19-17 triumph in the decisive third set.

Ventura advanced to its first ever CCCAA State Championships to beheld Thursday May 11 at West Valley College in Saratoga with play beginning at 9:00 am. 

In the meantime, VC's pairs teams of Murdoch and Rojelio, Johnson and Sletten, and Carter and Mulville will head to El Camino College in Torrance on Friday and Saturday May 5 and 6 to compete in the Southern California Pairs Tournament.

Ventura 5, Moorpark 0

1. Autumn Rojelio Moreno & Kayla Murdoch (VC) def. Hailey Walton & Larissa Dakoske (MC), 21-19, 21-15
2. Ashley Johnson & Olivia Sletten (VC) def. Brooke Bunker Cashe Olswang (MC), 21-19, 21-6
3. Averi Carter & Katey Mulville (VC) def.  Makenna Majus & Tyler Mobley (MC), 21-10, 21-9
4. Alba Romanos Gracia & Grace Williams (VC) def. Emma Songco & Brooke Macfadyen (MC), 21-19, 21-18
5. Bryce Swain & Kylie Ibbotson (VC) def. Skyler Costa & Grace Garland (MC), 21-11, 21-9

Order of Finish: 5, 3, 1, 2, 4

Ventura 5, Long Beach 0

1. Autumn Rojelio Moreno & Kayla Murdoch (VC) def. Jennifer Lias & Lizbeth Lopez (LBCC), 21-14, 22-20
2. Ashley Johnson & Olivia Sletten (VC) def. Destynie Viliamu & Celestial Ropati (LBCC), 21-17, 21-10
3. Averi Carter & Katey Mulville (VC) def. Caleyse Saunders & Emma Pearson (LBCC), 21-13, 21-14
4. Alba Romanos Gracia & Grace Williams (VC) def. Kaitlin Noel & Arianna Ortiz (LBCC), 15-21, 21-14, 19-17
5. Bryce Swain & Kylie Ibbotson (VC) def. Carmelina Infante & Brandi Ramirez (LBCC), 21-11, 21-14

Order of Finish: 5, 3, 1, 2, 4