SBCC toppled Pasadena and Golden West on Friday to move into the semifinals of the L.A. Pierce Kickoff Classic women's volleyball tournament in Woodland Hills.
The Vaqueros (2-0) beat the Lancers and the Rustlers by 3-1 scores. They overcame a 24-20 deficit in the first set vs. PCC on the way to a 28-26, 25-18, 20-25, 25-9 triumph. That gave the Vaqueros the No. 2 seed for the eight-team tourney and they beat No. 7 Golden West 25-12, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21 in the last match of the night.
Santa Barbara outhit Pasadena .263 to .092 and dominated the fourth set, .423 to .000. The Vaqueros had 12 kills and just one hitting error in the final set.
Carolyn Andrulis, the reigning WSC North MVP, was a force in the season-opening match at noon. She piled up 15 kills, 11 digs, six blocks and four aces. Kaylene Ureno added 11 kills and sophomore setter Kiana Pisula had 31 assists and tied her career high with 21 digs.
Freshman outside hitter McKenzie Garrison had 10 kills and nine digs while middle blocker Grace Trocki had six block assists. Avery Mulvey contributed 11 digs and seven assists.
The Vaqueros won the digging battle, 62-48.
Santa Barbara had a block party in the 7 p.m. match vs. Golden West. Andrulis had nine kills, six digs and four blocks. Stephanie Kennan racked up four kills and 12 blocks, including four solo. Ureno had eight kills, seven digs, three blocks and three aces. Pisula notched 30 assists, five kills and five blocks while Trocki had six block assists.
The Vaqueros had 18.5 blocks for the match and the Rustlers had 4.5.
Garrison added six kills and 12 digs. Mulvey led the team with 15 digs.
"We started with two giant stuff blocks by Stephanie and Kiana and that set the tone for the rest of the game," said coach Ed Gover. "In the fourth set, we were tied at 20 and Kaylene ripped off three straight aces. Stephanie got the 24th point and Kiana ended it with a solo block.
"We played really well the first two sets, got a little tired in the third and then rallied in the fourth. Kiana set a solid match and the team played very steady."
SBCC will take on No. 3 seed Bakersfield in a 1:30 p.m. semifinal on Saturday. If the Vaqueros win, they'll meet either L.A. Pierce or Canyons for the championship at 6:30 p.m.
