Women's Volleyball hosted a four-team mini tournament today with both the Cougars and their Western State Conference foe #8 Santa Barbara each playing Santa Monica and #25 Monterey Peninsula on the day. Both Cougars and Vaqueros won their matches against their non-conference foes to signal an exciting WSC season later this Fall. The Cougars opened with a five-set battle against #25 Monterey Peninsula (25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 17-25, 16-14) and got a measure of revenge against the Lobos, who beat them in four sets last Friday. The Cougars looked like they were headed for a sweep, but the Lobos battled to a tie-breaking fifth set. The hero of the match was reserve Setter Naomi Imamoto (Woodland Hills), who replace an injured Starter Kelsey Courtney (Cincinnati, OH) midway through the match. Imamoto dished out 14 assists against the Lobos and 26 more in the win over Santa Monica. Coach Whitney Meyer said, "Naomi stayed composed and ran the system, like every day in practice." Freshman Opposite Hitter Whitney Thompson (Arroyo Grande HS) led the Cougars with a dozen kills against the Lobos, while Middle Blocker Morgan Krause (Santa Maria: Pioneer Valley HS) and Outside Hitter Teagan Bryant (Exeter HS) also posted double-digit kills in the match, with 12 and ten respectively. In the nightcap, the Cougars swept the Corsairs (25-18, 25-21, 26-24), but once again had trouble closing out the final set with a two-point win. Bryant smacked down ten more kills to lead the Cougars, while Thompson added seven more. Meyer noted after the game, "I was proud how our group got two wins. We had been splitting our doubleheaders and I feel like this is growth." She also noted the play Outside Hitter Christelle Mouret (Morro Bay HS), who was all over the court for the Cougars with her great serving and 14 kills on the day. Meyer said, "She (Christelle) was our rock."
The Cougars improve to 7-3 on the year, however the Cougars' match scheduled for last Friday against Antelope Valley was cancelled due to COVID restrictions.
