Pirates Lose a Heartbreaker

VOLLEYBALL:  Not without the effort, the VC volleyball team came up three points short in the third set of their 5-set loss to Allan Hancock College Wednesday night at the Athletic Event Center. Leading 2-0 in sets, and up 20-19 in the third, the Pirates could not find a way to get the next five points, ultimately losing the set 25-23. In the fourth set they were even closer, leading 22-15 before giving up seven straight points, dropping the set 26-24. Finally, VC lost the final set in close fashion as well, dropping the match 20-25, 13-25, 26-24, 25-22, 15-13. Sydney Morris had 25 kills and Dana Cleavenger posted 66 assists to lead the Pirates (1-13, 0-4) while Sarah Veloz and Jasmine Perez recorded 24 and 22 digs, respectively.

The Pirates had the match well in hand early, taking a 15-8 advantage in the first set on a hit by Morris that the Bulldogs blocked wide. AHC came back, however, closing the gap to 16-13 before a nice running kill by Morris made the score 19-14. Veloz had a hit that was blocked wide giving the Pirates the first set 25-20. It was more of the same in the second set, with Cleavenger serving an ace to give VC a 5-1 edge early on. Morris had a block and a kill on consecutive points to make the score 17-9, and Makeda Pelle scored some impressive points to help close the 25-13 Pirate win in the set.

Hancock went up 4-1 early in the third, but a Kirra Drury kill evened the score at 6-6. Pelle put down a quick set to make it 16-13, VC. Hancock called a timeout with the score at 17-13, and came back to tie the set at 18-18. Ventura took a 19-18 lead, but the Bulldogs scored six of the next nine points to claim the set and stay alive.

A Veloz tip, a Pelle kill, a big hit by Drury, a Morris tip, and an ace by Gemma Stoll all had the Pirates ahead 22-15 in the fourth set, needing just three points to win the match. Unfortunately, those three points never came. The Bulldogs evened the score by winning the next seven points, and even a tip by Morris could not stop the Bulldogs' momentum, as they claimed a 26-14 set win.

The fifth and deciding set was close all along, with Hancock leading 8-7 when the teams changed sides. AHC won a huge point on a long volley to take a 12-8 advantage, and were up 14-10 on set point. The Pirates had life with a long Bulldog serve and a Drury kill on which the ball trickled along the net before falling on the Hancock side to close the score to 14-13. But Hancock won the next point, the set, and the match.

The Pirates host Moorpark on Friday Oct. 18 at 7:00 pm before closing out the first round of Western State Conference play at Santa Barbara on Wednesday Oct. 23.