San Marcos girls volleyball went on the road and battled to its first Channel League win of the season, a five-set victory over Buena on Thursday in Ventura.
The Royals (3-17, 1-4 Channel League) shook off an opening set loss and steadied for the marathon win, 18-25, 25-12, 25-10, 20-25, 15-5.
The San Marcos duo of Aeryn Alexander and Harper Dees paced the offensive attack with 15 kills apiece, while Alexander tallied 13 digs as well for a double-double.
Margaret Deakyne and Giulia Gislimberti contributed on the offensive end as well with nine and seven kills, respectively. Selah Wheeler facilitated the offense with 38 assists and Anja Firestone led the defense with 20 digs.
“I was really proud of the team for how they served. We really challenged them to serve short in this game, and that was really exciting,” San Marcos head coach Erica Downing said. “Overall, we set a great offense, got the middles involved early and we had some great blocks.
We just had a lot of really great team chemistry. We still have a couple of people sick, but we’re fighting through that, and we just dug deep for the win. I’m really happy and proud of these girls, and they deserved it for all their hard work.”
Laguna Blanca 3, Villanova Prep 0
The Owls secured a three-set sweep of Villanova Prep on Thursday, 25-11, 25-19, 27-25.
“We played really well tonight and did a great job of bouncing back after not our best on Tuesday,” Laguna Blanca head coach Tanner Stevens said. “Our passing was great, and Lolayna ran a fantastic offense, getting everyone involved.”
Lauren Kenny flirted with a double-double with 12 kills and nine digs, while Maritt Blabey wasn’t far behind at 11 kills and eight digs.
Redmond rounded out the Owls’ standouts with 32 assists and eight digs.
Dos Pueblos 3, Del Sol 0
The Chargers capped off an undefeated first half of Pacific View League action with a sweep of the Jaguars on Thursday inside Sovine Gym, 25-13, 25-17, 25-9.
“We really came alive in the third set and got to business,” Dos Pueblos head coach Emily Curry said.
Charlize Welch, Faith Harrison and Maya Rider all had strong matches at the net with seven, six and five kills, respectively. Meanwhile, Allie Ben-Yaacov served up four aces and Stella Valentine ended with three aces.
The Chargers are now 8-10 overall and 4-0 against league opponents.
Nordhoff 3, Carpinteria High 1
The Warriors dropped a league matchup with Nordhoff in four sets on Thursday in Carpinteria, 16-25, 25-21, 18-25, 19-25.
“Despite the loss, after a long string of wins, it only gives us fuel for the fire in knowing what we need to work on in practice,” Carpinteria High head coach Evan Rowbottom said.
“Our defense was ultimately put to the test, and Cora Nimmons, Evelyn Aviles and Leona McLellan were our foundation to build on with more than 60 digs between them.”
The Warriors will host Fillmore and Hueneme next week.
