Vaqueros sweep past Hancock 3-0

Katelynn Womack led a balanced attack with 11 kills on Halloween night and SBCC swept past Hancock in 73 minutes in a WSC North women's volleyball match at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 25-17, 25-14, 25-14.

The eighth-ranked Vaqueros rebounded from a 3-1 loss to L.A. Pierce on Wednesday by hitting .262 with solid passing and serving. SBCC (16-5, 7-1) moved a half-game ahead of Moorpark (6-1) in the conference race.

The Vaqueros have won 12 of their last 13 matches.

There were 10 ties in the first set before the Vaqueros broke away from a 15-15 deadlock with an 8-1 run ignited by back-to-back aces from Madelon Leiphardt. The sophomore setter from Dos Pueblos High had 34 assists, eight digs, six kills and a .625 hitting percentage. She also produced three of her team's 12 aces.

Middle blocker Taylor Badois had eight kills and a .357 hitting percentage while Alissa La Rocca added seven kills. Paige Sabin, a 6-1 middle, had six kills and hit .417. Nine Vaqueros had at least one kill.

"It was nice to get back on the winning track," said La Rocca, a 5-9 left-hander from San Francisco. "Almost everyone got to play and when they got in there, they all did their jobs."

Eryn Young had 10 digs while Syndey Kantor and Tristen Thompson had eight apiece. They all had two aces each as did Womack.

SBCC used a 12-3 run in the second set and took a 16-9 lead on a block by La Rocca and Sabin. They jumped ahead 8-3 in the third set, capped by an ace from Thompson. A tip kill by Badois and another ace from Thompson boosted the margin to 21-10.

"We got back to Vaquero volleyball, playing steady with good serving and passing," said coach Ed Gover, after notching the 298th win of his career. "It was nice to see the balance of our hitters. Paige was more involved tonight and it was great to see Maddie using both middles."

SBCC travels to Moorpark for a first-place showdown on Wednesday at 6 p.m.