8 Vaqueros make All-WSC; Young is Player of Year

Eryn Young won WSC North
Player of Year honors,
thanks to her stellar defense.
Ken Sciallo / Sevilla Photography

Gover repeats as Coach of the Year

Eight players from SBCC’s WSC championship team have earned spots on the All-Western State Conference North Division squad. Eryn Young was named Player of the Year and Ed Gover won Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season.

Santa Barbara went 19-8 overall and 11-1 in conference, sharing the title with L.A. Pierce. It was the fourth WSC title in the last five years for the Vaqueros, who won two Regional playoff matches before falling at No. 1 seed Irvine Valley 3-1 in the Southern Cal Finals.

SBCC tied for fifth in the state for its highest finish since 1999 when it was the state runner-up.

Young, a 5-5 freshman libero from St. Lucy’s High in West Covina, was second in the WSC in digs (370) and 10th in aces (41). She also had an outstanding 2.4 passer rating.

“Eryn was the foundation of our defense,” said Gover, who earned his fourth WSC Coach of the Year honor. “Her ability to read and defend our opponent’s best attackers provided us with many scoring opportunities in the transition game.”

Right-side hitter Jenna Anderson was a first-team choice and made the All-Southern Cal Region team for the second straight year. Anderson, the 2012 WSC North Player of the Year, led the conference in points (344), was second in kills (280) and eighth in digs (227).

Sophomore outside hitter Madison Waddell and freshman middle blocker Kristy Kearney earned first-team all-conference honors for the second straight year. Waddell led the conference in kills (287) and hitting percentage (.358) and was third in total points. Kearney was first in the WSC North in season hitting percentage (.308) and second in total blocks (57).

Jasmine Ward (3rd in conference hitting percentage, .302) and setter Madelon Leiphardt (2^nd in assists, 9.9 per set) were second-team selections. Middle blocker Taylor Badois and setter Ari Garner made honorable mention.

After suffering its only conference loss to L.A. Pierce on Oct. 9, SBCC reeled off 12 straight wins and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the state. They finished the year ranked No. 7.

No. 1 Lasers end Vaqueros’ season, 3-1

Jasmine Ward had 19 kills on Tuesday night and Jenna Anderson added 11 kills and four blocks but SBCC came up short in its bid to make the State Final Four in women’s volleyball.

Top-seeded Irvine Valley won the Southern Cal Regional Final match 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) in Irvine.

“We came out a little nervous and our passing was off,” said coach Ed Gover. “Irvine Valley was steady and they have a lot of talent. We played much better in the second set.”

The fourth-seeded Vaqueros (19-8) had their 12-match win streak snapped by the undefeated Lasers (23-0), who won the tough Orange Empire League.

Santa Barbara took an 18-14 lead in set No. 2 before the home team reeled off six straight points to take the lead at 20-18. SBCC finished off the set on a 7-3 run that produced a 25-23 victory.

The Lasers are 69-7 in sets this year with three of the losses coming to the Vaqueros. Irvine Valley edged SBCC 3-2 in the Vaqueros’ home opener this year on Sept. 6.

Madison Waddell added six kills and Taylor Badois had four for SBCC. Kristy Kearney had four blocks, Eryn Young made 19 digs and Madelon Leiphardt handed out 39 assists.

Irvine broke open a tight third set with a 4-0 run that made it 14-8 and jumped ahead 14-7 in the fourth set.

“We couldn’t stop their All-American (6-2 middle blocker Annie Mitchem) in the third set,” said Gover. “She was their go-to player. Then, she started the fourth set with four straight kills. When a player like that gets into a rhythm, she’s tough to stop.

“We fought hard but couldn’t get anything going. We still had a fantastic season with our best finish in many years.”

The Vaqueros ended up tied for fifth in the State.

Anderson guides Vaqueros into Regional finals

Jasmine Ward led the
Vaqueros with 17 kills.
Photo by Ken Sciallo

Jenna Anderson drilled 15 kills with 18 digs and six blocks on Saturday night as No. 4 SBCC survived a tough battle with No. 12 Pasadena to post a 3-2 victory in the second round of the Southern Cal Regional women’s volleyball playoffs.

Jasmine Ward had 17 kills and Madison Waddell added 14 in the 19-25, 25-19, 25-19, 27-29, 15-13 triumph that lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes at the Sports Pavilion. It was the 12th straight win for the Vaqueros (19-7), who moved into the Regional Finals on Tuesday at No. 1 seed Irvine Valley.

“I’m happy with the way we finished every game strong,” said Anderson, a 5-11 sophomore from Lake Forest, Calif. “They fought hard, we just fought harder. We wanted it more.”

Noralia To’omalatai led the Lancers (15-10) with 25 kills and 16 digs.

Kristy Kearney had 11 kills and hit .300 for Santa Barbara. Fellow middle hitter Taylor Badois added seven kills and six blocks, including two solo.

Setter Madelon Leiphardt had season highs with 61 assists and a team-best 25 digs. Eryn Young added 20 digs and Lara Bangs 17. Jane Petricka had three aces.

Pasadena, which lost to the Vaqueros 3-0 early in the year, jumped ahead 20-10 in the opening set. Ari Garner came in at setter and led a 9-2 charge that pulled the Vaqueros within three at 22-19. Briana Hilton had a kill and a block to cap Pasadena’s 25-19 win.

Santa Barbara built leads of 6-2, 12-6 and 19-11 in the second set behind strong play from Anderson and Kearney. The third set was tight early with eight ties in the first 18 points. The home team broke away on an ace by Petricka, a kill by Anderson, a Pasadena error, a sharp-angle spike by Ward and a block by Ward and Badois that made it 20-14. A booming kill by Waddell and a Kearney block ended the set in SBCC’s favor, 25-19.

“It was a great college match, both teams battled their hearts out,” said coach Ed Gover. “Nora (on Pasadena) is very, very smart with her shot selection and the precision of her shots. Not too many have a great roll shot like hers.

“They played great defense and so did we. I saw some crazy digs tonight.”

The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair with 21 ties and lots of lead changes. The Vaqueros got to match point twice at 24-23 and 25-24 but couldn’t finish the deal. To’omalatai finally ended the 29-27 marathon with an ace serve.

SBCC jumped up 6-3 in the fifth and deciding set when a kill by Ward ended the longest and most exciting rally of the night. After making the side change with an 8-7 advantage, the Vaqueros rolled off four straight points to make it 12-7.

The Lancers came back to cut it to one at 13-12 before the Vaqueros ended it on a block by Anderson and Badois, followed shortly by a tip from Anderson that went backward off a Lancer defender.

“I saw the block up and I thought ‘I’m just going to keep this ball in play,’ “ said Anderson, of her match-winning shot. “The line digger was back and I hadn’t done that throughout the match. I just said, ‘Let’s see what happens.’ “

What happened was the tip shot secured a thrilling 3-2 victory and the Vaqueros’ first trip to the Regional Finals since the format changed from eight teams in the State Finals to four a few years ago.

The winner of Tuesday’s match will advance to the State Finals on Dec. 7-8 at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, along with the other So Cal winner. No. 2 Grossmont will host No. 3 Golden West on Tuesday.

Vaqueros top Citrus 3-1 in Regional opener

Jenna Anderson had 12 kills,
14 digs and 3 aces in Tuesday's
3-1 Regional victory.
Photo by Ken Sciallo

Madison Waddell had 14 kills and Jenna Anderson had a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs on Tuesday night as SBCC opened the Southern Cal Regional women’s volleyball playoffs with a 3-1 win over Citrus. The scores were 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-15.

It was the 11th straight win for the No. 4-seeded Vaqueros (18-7). No. 13 Citrus, which finishes at 14-10, got a match-high 21 kills from Danielle Hundley.

“It was a really good game, I liked the energy,” said Waddell. “It was definitely a battle, we were so close. We pulled through and got sideouts when we needed them.

“Conference was a little bit slow and coming to the playoffs, we were so excited and energized. It’s do-or-die in the playoffs and if you lose, you go home. The energy was way higher tonight.”

The Vaqueros will host No. 12 Pasadena, which went to No. 5 San Diego Mesa and surprised the Olympians 3-0. The second-round match is set for Saturday at 6 p.m.

Waddell hit .343 and Anderson finished at .333 to go along with three ace serves. Jasmine Ward added 11 kills, including the match-clincher to the back line. Taylor Badois had five kills and eight blocks, including two solo.

Olenka Tuleja had 13 digs, libero Eryn Young 12 and setter Madelon Leiphardt, a freshman from Dos Pueblos High, had eight.

“Madelon moves the ball around so well and she’s able to find our hitters in open spots,” said coach Ed Gover. “And Ari Garner was great tonight, coming in and making some great passes late in the match.”

There were 13 ties in the first set before the Vaqueros pulled away late on two kills by Waddell and an ace and kill from Anderson. The second set was equally tight with the Vaqueros leading by three on a few occasions. They won the set 25-21 with a 6-2 closing run.

The Owls overcame a late three-point deficit in the third set and won it with a 9-3 closing burst that produced a 25-22 win.

SBCC bolted to leads of 5-1, 7-2 and 14-7 in the third set. After Citrus cut the lead to six points at 17-11, Waddell reeled off three straight kills to make it 20-11.

“In the playoffs, every team is good and Citrus had quite a few weapons,” said Gover. Their No. 6 had 21 kills and we pretty much couldn’t stop her. When she got in the back row, we tended to score more points, so we had to be patient as she went through the front.

“Our patience level was high today.”

Pasadena (15-9) has knocked the Vaqueros out of the playoffs in two of the last three seasons.

“They have an extremely good player and two good outside hitters,” Gover noted. “We played them early in the season (Sept. 13) and got them in 3 but right now they are peaking. That was a big win down at San Diego Mesa.”

Vaqueros seeded 4th in Regional, will host Citrus

SBCC was seeded fourth for the Southern Cal Women’s Volleyball Regional and will host No. 13 Citrus on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The Vaqueros, co-champs in the WSC North at 11-1, are making their fifth straight Regional appearance. They won their last 10 matches to finish the regular season at 17-7. Seven of those wins have been sweeps and they’re 30-3 in sets during the win streak.

Citrus (14-9) finished third in the WSC South with an 8-4 record. The Owls have won seven of their last nine matches.

Irvine Valley (20-0) was the No. 1 seed, followed by Grossmont and Golden West.

Vaqueros sweep to claim 4th WSC North title in 5 years

Madison Waddell and Jenna Anderson led a balanced attack with eight kills apiece on Wednesday night, guiding No. 7 SBCC to a 3-0 women’s volleyball win over L.A. Mission in its final regular-season match at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 25-9, 25-16, 25-13.

Jenna Anderson, left, makes a block
with help from Megan Lunger .
Photo by Ken Sciallo

It was the 10^th straight win for SBCC (17-7, 11-1) and secured its fourth WSC North title in the last five years. Santa Barbara will share the title with L.A. Pierce. The Vaqueros are 49-5 in WSC action over the past five seasons.

Waddell, one of six players honored on “Sophomore Night,” hit a sizzling .615. Kristy Kearney added six kills and Jasmine Ward had five.

Eryn Young served 11 straight points, including three aces, as the Vaqueros built a 12-2 lead in the first set.

Eryn Young had 3 aces and served
11 straight points in the 1st set.
Photo by Ken Sciallo

“It’s always fun to honor the girls who gave two years to City College and bless their hearts, they’re such great kids,” said coach Ed Gover. “If you look at their body of work, they’ve won two conference titles and they’re 21-1 the last two years. That’s pretty impressive.”

Ari Garner was the setter for the first two sets and Madelon Leiphardt set the third. The Vaqueros broke open a close second set with a 10-4 burst that made it 19-12. They enjoyed leads of 7-2, 15-6 and 22-11 in the third set.

Jane Petricka had nine digs and three aces while Lara Bangs added six digs and four aces.

“Tonight was all about playing for each other and finishing our last league game strong,” said Garner, a 5-6 sophomore from Carmichael, Calif. “We’re excited about opening the playoffs at home next week.

“We’ve got some good momentum going, we just need to come out and play like we have been the last few weeks. It’s a little sad, thinking that my last home volleyball match is coming soon but this was a fun way to end the regular season.”  

The Vaqueros, ranked No. 4 in Southern Cal, will open the playoffs on Tuesday, Nov. 26 with a likely home match. The pairings will be announced on Sunday.

Waddell, Young fuel 3-1 win over Ventura

Madison Waddell had 14 kills on Friday night and Eryn Young made 16 digs, leading No. 7 SBCC to a 3-1 women’s volleyball win at Ventura. The scores were 25-12, 24-26, 25-10, 25-20.

Taylor Badois added 12 kills and hit .478 for the Vaqueros (16-7, 10-1), who extended their win streak to nine and remained in a first-place tie atop the WSC North with L.A. Pierce. Ventura fell to 2-21 and 0-12.

Jenna Anderson had 10 kills and 12 digs and Jasmine Ward also had 10 kills. Madelon Leiphardt contributed 15 digs, 38 assists and two aces. Jane Petricka had three aces.

"We played without Kristy Kearney, who had food poisoning, and Taylor and Megan Lunger did a nice job of filling in,” said coach Ed Gover. “Madelon did a good job of moving the ball around to our main hitters.

“Eryn Young had 16 digs and her passing was nearly flawless. She’s our steady rock out there. Sometimes the liberos go unnoticed but she’s a big reason why we’ve been successful this year.”

The Vaqueros complete the regular season on Wednesday when L.A. Mission visits the Sports Pavilion for a 6 p.m. match.

Anderson sparks eighth straight win

Jenna Anderson had 10 kills with a .421hitting percentage and delivered three aces in the opening set as No. 7 SBCC swept Moorpark 3-0 in a WSC North women’s volleyball match at the Sports Pavilion.





Jenna Anderson had 10 kills for the match
and three aces in the opening set.

SBCC won its eighth straight, 25-16, 25-21, 25-15 and six of those were sweeps. The Vaqueros (15-7, 9-1) are ranked No. 7 in the state and tied for first with L.A. Pierce with two matches remaining.

Santa Barbara enjoyed early leads in all three sets against the Raiders (9-9, 4-5). They led 9-3 in the first set, 10-4 in the second and 8-1 in the third.

Jasmine Ward had nine kills, Madison Waddell seven and Kristy Kearney six. Eryn Young led in digs with 13 and Lara Bangs and Olenka Tuleja had seven apiece.

“We’re preparing for the playoffs, so we wanted to bring all that energy and play as hard as we can,” said Waddell. “We had a lot of runs with our serving and we did a good job of siding out in the first and third games.”

Moorpark used an 11-5 run to pull even at 15 in the second set. It was tied three more times before Megan Lunger untied it for good with a kill that made it 20-19. A Moorpark error and an ace serve by Madelon Leiphardt stretched the lead to three points.

Leiphardt had 23 assists and three aces.

“She did an excellent job of distributing the ball,” said coach Ed Gover. “We came out very relaxed and our passing kept us in a steady rhythm. They tied us in the second set but we were never worried about it because of our ball control. We did a good job of getting the ball to our setters.

“The win streak has helped build our confidence. We’re taking them one at a time and trying not to look ahead.”

The Vaqueros have a bye on Wednesday, then travel to Ventura on Friday, Nov. 15, starting at 7 p.m.

Vaqueros sweep Hancock for seventh straight win

Jasmine Ward and Rachel Bower had seven kills apiece on Wednesday night as No. 7 SBCC swept past Hancock 25-15, 25-12, 25-21 in a WSC North women’s volleyball match in Santa Maria.

Eryn Young had 12 digs and three aces. Lara Bangs added nine digs for the Vaqueros, who won their seventh straight match to improve to 14-7 overall and 8-1 in conference. It was the fifth sweep in the last seven matches for the Vaqueros, who are 21-2 in sets during the win streak.

SBCC and L.A. Pierce are tied for first with three matches remaining.

“Hancock is a scrappy team but we were way more physical,” said assistant coach Lisa Gera. “Maddie Waddell had some good service runs and played great D in the back. She showed a lot of tenacity.”

The Vaqueros will host Moorpark on Friday at 6 p.m.

No. 10 Vaqueros stun No. 8 Pierce 3-1, move into first place

Kristy Kearney pounded a season-high 16 kills and hit .625 on Friday night as SBCC surprised No. 8 L.A. Pierce 3-1 in a key WSC North women’s volleyball match in Woodland Hills. The scores were 25-12, 22-25, 25-21, 25-12.

Freshman MB Kristy Kearney had a season-high 16 kills
in a 3-1 win that vaulted SBCC into first place.

Madison Waddell added 11 kills and Jenna Anderson had a superb all-around match with 10 kills, 17 digs, 6 block assists and 6 aces. Lara Bangs added 10 digs and Maddie Leiphardt had 37 assists and nine digs.

It was a huge triumph for the No. 10 Vaqueros, who extended their win streak to six games and handed Pierce its first WSC loss. The Vaqueros moved into a first-place tie with Pierce at 7-1. SBCC (13-7) avenged its only WSC setback this year – a 3-1 decision to the Brahmas on Oct. 9.

Pierce (14-10), the three-time defending state champion, had its 10-match win streak snapped and was held to a season-low 12 points in the first and fourth sets. The Brahmas hit just .070 for the match.

“We were solid from start to finish,” said SBCC coach Ed Gover. “We had a great game plan and our team executed it very well.

“They could not stop Kristy, she was a force to be reckoned with.”

The Vaqueros travel to Santa Maria on Wednesday to take on Hancock at 6 p.m.

Vaqueros cruise past Cuesta 3-0

SBCC rode solid passing and ball control to a 3-0 women’s volleyball sweep of Cuesta on Wednesday night in the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 25-18, 25-17, 25-15.

It was the fifth straight win for the 10^th-ranked Vaqueros (12-7, 6-1), who remained one game behind No. 8 L.A. Pierce in the battle for the WSC North title. SBCC travels to Woodland Hills to take on Pierce on Friday at 7 p.m.

The third-place Cougars fell to 11-7 and 4-3.

SBCC is 38-4 in WSC matches over the last four-plus years.

Madison Waddell had 10 kills and hit .529 while Jasmine Ward added nine kills with a .412 hitting percentage. Eryn Young led in digs with eight and had three of her team’s nine aces. Setter Madelon Leiphardt had 30 assists and five digs.

“The key tonight was the passing of Jenna Anderson,” said coach Ed Gover. “She had 13 three-level passes, which means we were in system on 13 of her passes. They went after her and she responded really well with a great passing percentage.

“We have a big match coming up on Friday and we had to stay focused on this match because Cuesta just had a big win over Moorpark. Our demeanor was businesslike and calm and nothing rattled us.”

The Vaqueros broke open a 13-13 first set with an 8-2 run, capped by a Ward kill that made it 21-15. They jumped to leads of 8-2 and 12-5 in the second set. Cuesta got within four at 15-11 before the home team used a 5-0 run, capped by a Kristy Kearney kill in the middle, to make it 20-11.

The Vaqueros led 11-9 in the third set when they put together an 11-2 burst to build a commanding 22-11 lead. Kearney had three kills and a block during that run and Rachel Bower added back-to-back kills and a block.

“Our passing changed this match and our defense was better than its been in the past,” said Kearney, a 5-11 freshman middle blocker from Livermore. “Our defense was so good, it allowed us to run all kinds of plays.

“Our goal is to play as well as we can against Pierce. That’s our biggest match of the season. We just have to go out there and dominate.”

Waddell sparks Vaqueros to fourth straight win

Madison Waddell had 15 kills and Jenna Anderson added eight on Friday night as No. 12 SBCC overcame a cold start to sweep L.A. Mission 25-23, 25-12, 25-18 in a WSC women’s volleyball match in Sylmar.

“The gym was ice cold and so was our hitting at the start,” said coach Ed Gover. “We fell behind 6-0, then finally warmed up and tied it at 18.”

The Vaqueros (11-7, 5-1) went on to win the first set and dominated the next two sets en route to their fourth straight win. Mission fell to 9-7 and 2-4.

Jasmine Ward had six kills and setter Maddie Leiphardt led in digs with nine. Jane Petricka contributed three aces.

SBCC hosts Cuesta on Wednesday at 6 p.m. It will be another “Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat” food-drive night, sponsored by the Vaquero student-athletes.

Anyone who makes two or more food donations (canned food, bags of rice, pasta or cereal, jars of peanut butter) will receive free admission.

Waddell has 16 kills in third straight win

Madison Waddell recorded 16 kills and five blocks on Wednesday night as No. 12 SBCC topped Ventura 3-1 in a WSC North women’s volleyball match at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 25-13, 23-25, 25-11, 25-10.

Waddell hit .448 and she was supported by Jasmine Ward (10 kills) and Jenna Anderson (8), who only played the last two sets due to illness.

The second-place Vaqueros (10-7, 4-1) won their third straight match while Ventura fell to 0-6 and 1-15.

“We went back to our normal lineup in the last two sets,” said coach Ed Gover. “Jenna has been under the weather for the last two days. We started Rachel (Bower) on the right side, which isn’t her natural position.

“We handled it fairly well in the first game but in the second game, our passing broke down and we had a few missed serves. At 23-all, we made a mental error that turned it their way. We were pretty smooth after that.”

It was a match of runs as the Vaqueros went on a 10-1 burst to take a 22-11 lead in the opener and Ventura erased a 21-15 defict by finishing the second set on a 10-2 spurt. SBCC broke open a tight third set, using an 11-0 streak to take a 23-9 lead on a stuff block by Waddell.

“I always say we need more energy and I’m always trying to get everyone energized,” said Waddell, a 6-foot sophomore from Thousand Oaks. “I was jumping up and down trying to get us going and we finally realized what we needed to do in the last two games.”

Eryn Young had 17 digs and three aces and Taylor Badois added five blocks for the Vaqueros, who used a 12-3 run to build a 16-6 lead in the final set. Young notched back-to-back aces to make it 22-10 and Kristy Kearney ended the match with a well-placed tip for a kill.

The Vaqueros travel to Sylmar to take on L.A. Mission on Friday at 6 p.m.

Vaqueros post sweep at Moorpark

Jenna Anderson had 12 kills and Eryn Young recorded 14 digs and two aces Wednesday night, leading SBCC to its second straight women’s volleyball sweep. The Vaqueros posted a 25-17, 25-18, 25-16 victory at Moorpark.

Santa Barbara (9-7, 3-1 WSC North) improved to 8-2 on the road. Moorpark fell to 6-6 and 1-2.

Jasmine Ward added nine kills and Madison Waddell had seven. Kristy Kearney contributed five kills and five blocks. Madelon Leiphardt had 32 assists.

The Vaqueros built a small lead midway through the first set, then pulled away for the win. They overcame a 5-0 deficit in the second set, thanks to solid outside hitting and the play of Kearney in the middle. The visitors were in control throughout the third set.

After a bye on Friday, SBCC will host Ventura on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Ward guides Vaqueros to first home win

Sophomore Jasmine Ward had 16 kills in the first two sets on Friday night and No. 9 SBCC swept Hancock 25-12, 25-11, 25-8 in a women’s volleyball match at the Sports Pavilion.

Ward had an impressive .545 hitting percentage and didn’t play in the third set on a night when the Vaqueros (8-7, 2-1 WSC North) rested Jenna Anderson and setter Ari Garner. Tomilyn Ryba had eight kills in her first starting assignment and Madison Waddell added seven.

It was the first home win in six tries this year.

“It was nice to see Tomi play and she did an excellent job,” said coach Ed Gover. “We got nice setting from (Madelon) Leiphardt. We have a well-rounded team and we can play a lot of people.”

The Vaqueros had 11 aces, including four by Olenka Tuleja.

SBCC jumped ahead 15-5 in the first set and never looked back. The Vaqueros were leading 11-9 in set No. 2 when Tuleja served eight straight points to make it 20-9. Ward had five kills in that 8-0 burst and nine in the second set alone. Ward sat out the third set.

The second set ended with an ace by Ryba, a kill by Megan Lunger and another ace by Tuleja.

The Vaqueros took a 9-1 lead in the third set, thanks to three aces from Tuleja. The margin grew to 20-6 on a kill by Waddell and an ace from Jane Petricka.

SBCC travels to Moorpark on Wednesday.

Pierce tops No. 9 Vaqueros 3-1

Jenna Anderson had 16 kills and hit .412 on Wednesday night but L.A. Pierce won three tight sets to pull out an 18-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-23 women’s volleyball victory at the Sports Pavilion.

Pierce, the three-time defending state champion, switched from the WSC South to the North this year. The Brahmas won for the fifth straight time to improve to 9-9 and 2-0 in conference. The Vaqueros, ranked No. 9 in the state, had their 11-match WSC winning streak snapped and fell to 7-7 and 1-1.

Madison Waddell added 15 kills and Jasmine Ward had eight. Taylor Badois recorded seven blocks, including two solo, and Anderson had five.

“Pierce played a strong match and our energy was still good,” said SBCC coach Ed Gover. “You’re not going to blow away a team that has that much pride in what they’ve accomplished over the last three years.

“We made some mistakes at key moments down the stretch that really cost us.”

The Vaqueros jumped ahead in the first set, 10-4, 16-11 and 22-14. Waddell secured the 25-18 win with a kill off the block. Pierce overcame a 19-16 deficit to win the second set and held leads of 2-3 points throughout the third set.

SBCC went ahead 9-5 and 17-14 in the fourth stanza before the Brahmas went on a 6-2 run to take the lead at 20-19. Savannah Loutzenhiser gave the visitors a 24-22 lead with an ace serve and then served long.

After an L.A. Pierce timeout, the match ended on a serve in the net by the Vaqueros.

Eryn Young had 22 digs, Ari Garner had 10 and Waddell added nine.

“Pierce passed really well at the end of the match and was able to run the middle,” Gover added. “They won the passing-serving portion. Our players know they have to serve tougher against this team.”

SBCC hosts Hancock on Friday at 6 p.m.