Santa Barbara City College Women’s Volleyball opened up the second round of conference action with a sweep of LA Mission last Friday, 25-18, 25-16, 25-22.
The Vaqueros are now 11-9 on the season with an impressive conference mark of 5-1, good for a share of first place.
“My goal for our team was that in this second round of playing everyone, we want to play each match tougher than the first round,” SBCC head coach Kat Niksto said. “We definitely accomplished that goal.”
The first set was relatively close, but the Vaqueros pulled away late and kept up that momentum in the second set, cruising to a 2-0 lead.
“I was extremely happy with our serving, we were able to switch targets, keep our serves aggressive, and kept LA Mission off balance all night long,” Niksto said.
Gabby Russell and Carly Hanna led the team with four aces apiece while Kira Little also contributed from the service line. Russell added in 10 digs on the defensive end.
The third and final set was the closest of the match, but it was the Vaquero serving that made the difference once again, pulling out the 25-22 win.
“Our middles stepped up big time,” Niksto said. “Both Carly [Hanna] and Bella Nassiri were huge offensive forces for us attacking (both hitting over .500%) as well as dominant blockers on defense.”
Heidi Collins led the Vaquero offensive attack with 12 kills to go along with four blocks and an ace. Natalie Lercari-Sullivan setup Collins and the rest of the offense with a season-high 32 assists.
“[Natalie] really utilized all her attackers at the right time throughout the night,” Niksto said.
SBCC, which has won six of its last seven matchups, will take on Moorpark on the road on Wednesday.
