In their first road game of the year, the SoCal No. 1-ranked Ventura College volleyball team traveled to No. 9 Orange Coast, coming away with a 22-25, 25-17, 28-26, 25-23 victory. The "visiting" Pirates overcame a slow start, dropping just their second set of the season in the opener, before winning the next three over the "home" Pirates to claim the victory. Kayla Murdoch recorded 33 kills with an through-the-roof .520 hitting percentage while Nevada Knowles registered a triple-double of 31 assists, 15 kills and 12 digs.
Ventura (6-0) trailed throughout the opening set, but managed to keep the score close. The visitors fought back to a 19-19 tie, and again were knotted at 20 before OCC (3-1) went back ahead to claim the set 25-22.
Ventura came back in the second set with a renewed focus, jumping out to leads of 6-1 and 21-11. VC easily withstood a 6-1 Orange Coast run and dispatched the home team 25-18 to even the match.
VC went ahead 14-10 in the third before the Pirates of the South came back wit ha 7-1 run to go ahead 17-15. Unfazed, the Pirates of the North produced a 6-1 run to counter and regain a 21-17 advantage. OCC followed with four straight winners before Averi Carter recorded back-to-back kills to go ahead. Orange Coast took a 24-23 advantage, but Ventura survived a set point to claim a 28-26 win on five winners from Murdoch.
OCC maintained a slight edge through most of the fourth set and led 20-18 before Ventura took care of business. The combination of Murdoch and Knowles pushed VC to a 6-2 run to reestablish control, and Murdoch's big hit sealed the match with a 25-23 set triumph.
Autumn Rojelio Moreno led the Ventura defense with 22 digs while Carter totaled 10. Katey Mulville led the defense at the net with three blocks.
Mulville also totaled seven kills on offense and Amelie Zubia handed out 22 assists. Knowles and Alexandria Donnelly each had three service aces.
Ventura returns to action on Friday Sept. 9 at the Pasadena City Quad facing Antelope Valley and Citrus. VC will return home on Wednesday Sept. 14 against College of the Desert.