SBCC dropped a pair of volleyball matches on Saturday in the Mt. SAC Invitational. The Vaqueros were swept by No. 24 Desert 3-0 and lost a close 5-set decision to the host, Mt. San Antonio.
No. 24 Desert 3, SBCC 0: Facing their third straight top-25 opponent, the Vaqueros were outhit .238 to .063 in the 25-14, 25-16, 25-22 setback. Kenzie Garrison and Jackie Ortegon had four kills apiece. Desert won its 10th in a row to improve to 12-1. The Roadrunners have won 36 of 41 sets this year.
Mt. San Antonio 3, SBCC 2: Garrison had 17 kills, 13 digs, 4 aces and 2 blocks in the 2-hour, 18-minute marathon. Mt. SAC's Jessica Morse had 18 kills and hit .452 in the 25-19, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-10 victory. SBCC fell to 2-8 and the Mounties improved to 6-8.
Mt. SAC used 17 players and outhit the Vaqueros .242 to .224.
Jenny Sims recorded the first double-double of her Vaquero career with season highs in kills (16) and digs (13). Middle blocker Kate Richardson had 13 kills and three blocks while hitting .480 with just one error in 25 swings.
Danielle Hewitt tied her season high with 44 assists. Lexi Michaelson added a season-best 18 digs and three aces.
In the fourth set, the Vaqueros fell behind 11-7, then went on a 13-6 run and took a 20-17 lead on a kill by Sims. Garrison capped the 25-23 win with a kill.
The Mounties jumped ahead 4-1 in the fifth set before the Vaqueros took an 8-6 lead on a kill by Richardson, a ball-handling error and an ace by Michaelson. Mt. SAC regained control with a 6-0 run that led to a 12-8 advantage.
The Vaqueros open WSC North play on Wednesday when Ventura comes to the Sports Pavilion for a 6 p.m. match.
Santa Barbara has won six straight conference titles and eight of the last nine.