By Jimmy Friery
VENTURA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Beach Volleyball team gritted out 2 huge wins on Friday over conference opponents Bakersfield and Ventura.
The Vaqueros had previously beaten Bakersfield, in Bakersfield, in a close 3-2 match. Later in the day, against Ventura, both teams went into the match 5-0 in WSC play.
The early match against Bakersfield was smoother sailing than the previous matchup between the teams. SBCC took care of business, sweeping them 5-0, also sweeping the 2-match season series in the process.
That set up a match of conference unbeatens after Ventura beat Moorpark 3-2 in their early match. Naturally, it would be the most important match of the Vaqueros season to date, and the windy conditions at Ventura Harbor would make things difficult for both teams.
1s team Olivia Medina and Ashley Rossi were putting their own unbeaten tally to the test against Autumn Rojelio and Kayla Murdoch, who were instrumental to Ventura's Indoor Volleyball conference co-championship last fall.
Down early at 5-9, the Vaqs pair rattled off 7 straight to take a 12-9 lead. After ties at 14-14 and 17-17, Rossi had 2 blocks in a row to get to set point. They would finish off the first set 21-18.
Now playing loose with a lead, Medina/Rossi began the second set with a 7-2 advantage. Ventura got back to 12-9, but the ever-positive Medina showed unwavering confidence with a smile after a kill to make it to 15-9. That point was in the middle of a 5-0 run, and the duo cruised to a 21-10 second set victory, winning 9 of the final 10 points.
"We took care of business today," Medina said, celebrating her birthday with her and Rossi's 14th win in 14 matches. "We've been talking about this game [against Ventura] for weeks—just really proud of our team for getting the win."
"We adjusted with the wind really well and were able to adapt to the circumstances," Rossi added. "Every time we made mistakes, we were calm about it and didn't let it affect us and executed really well in the next points."
The 1s match was the first to conclude with the 3s immediately following. Charlotte Wilson and Carolina Koceman battled but lost a close first set. Midway through the second, Wilson suffered an injury and play halted for a handful of minutes. Ventura steadily increased their lead the remainder of the match to a 2-set victory, tying the team matchup at 1 apiece.
Meanwhile, 5s duo Jillian Zimmerman and Vanessa Cabeza were in a tiebreaker third set. Either way, it would be a crucial swing for whichever team would win, taking a 2-1 team lead.
After winning the first set 21-15, the Vaqs duo found themselves up 19-15 late in the second. Ventura would surmount a massive comeback, taking 6 points in a row to force a deciding third set.
It seemed like the Vaqs would win easily from there, with 4-1, 7-2, and 10-3 leads to start the set. However, Ventura would win 9 of the next 10 points, taking an 11-12 lead after tying the score via an ace. The Vaqs would refocus and close out the next 4 points of the match, winning 15-12. Cabeza called game by serving back-to-back aces to seal the win.
Now up 2-1, attention shifted to court 4, where Celia Espinoza and Carly Hanna lost the first set but were winning the second 11-5. Ventura then tallied 5 in a row and eventually took a lead at 16-17. Then, down 17-19, Espinoza struck a kill and Hanna earned an ace to tie it at 19-all. They would win the next point, but the wind gave and it took, and a service error brought the score to 20-20. Later, the dogfight continued at 21-21 and 22-22, yet a Ventura ace sealed the match 2 points later. The loss snapped Espinoza/Hanna's impressive 7-match win streak.
Thus, the matchup between the two best teams in the WSC would rightfully come down to its final remaining tie.
After an 11-10 first set lead, 2s team Alexis Zevenbergen and Nevaeh Tillet burst out to a 16-11 advantage. Zevenbergen later capped off the set victory with a kill, meaning the Vaqueros were 21 points from a win.
The second set was as tight as can be, as the biggest Vaquero lead was 4 at 13-9. A Tillet ace made it 19-16, and it looked like the Vaqueros would certainly come away with the win. Not so fast—a team as talented as Ventura would not go away easily. They came back to tie it at 19 and 20, even taking a lead at 20-21. A service error kept the match alive, and Tillet perfectly set up Zevenbergen's kill on the next point. Serving for the match, Tillet aced the Vaqueros to victory.
The win means SBCC now sits alone, unblemished, atop the WSC standings, with Ventura in second with 1 loss.
5 sets in total were decided by 3 points or less in the incredibly competitive 3-2 win. Circle your calendar for April 12 when these two programs play again at East Beach.
Before then, the Vaqueros (6-0) are back in action on their usual schedule next Friday at Santa Monica against Santa Monica (3-2) and Moorpark (2-3).
Match 1 vs. Bakersfield (5-0 W):
1s: Olivia Medina/Ashley Rossi (SBCC) def. Dees/Bowyer (BC) 21-9, 21-14
2s: Charlotte Wilson/Carolina Koceman (SBCC) def. Tedrow/Briggs (BC) 19-21, 21-15, 16-14
3s: Alexis Zevenbergen/Nevaeh Tillet (SBCC) def. Jones/Yursik (BC) 21-16, 21-13
4s: Celia Espinoza/Carly Hanna (SBCC) def. Panther/Parra (BC) 21-13, 21-19
5s: Jillian Zimmerman/Vanessa Cabeza (SBCC) def. Watts/Roberson (BC) 21-10, 21-11
Match 2 vs. Ventura (3-2 W):
1s: Olivia Medina/Ashley Rossi (SBCC) def. Rojelio/Murdoch (VC) 21-18, 21-10
2s: Alexis Zevenbergen/Nevaeh Tillet (SBCC) def. Romanos Gracia/Ibbotson (VC) 21-16, 23-21
3s: Swain/Hazzard (VC) def. Charlotte Wilson/Carolina Koceman (SBCC) 21-16, 21-14
4s: Piro/Raines (VC) def. Celia Espinoza/Carly Hanna (SBCC) 21-17, 24-22
5s: Jillian Zimmerman/Vanessa Cabeza (SBCC) def. Schaumloeffel/Schalde (VC) 21-15, 19-21, 15-12
Order of finish: 1, 3, 5, 4, 2
