Andrulis, Ureno, Mertens guide Vaqueros to 10th straight win

Carolyn Andrulis, Kaylene Ureno and Karissa Mertens combined for 35 kills, 24 digs and nine aces on Friday night as SBCC defeated L.A. Mission 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-15, 25-15) for its 10th straight women's volleyball victory.

The Vaqueros (12-4) are ranked No. 12 in California. They hit .283 with 12 aces. In the last three matches, SBCC is hitting a solid .331.

Andrulis led the way with 13 kills, a .393 hitting percentage and seven digs. Ureno had a double-double with 12 kills,10 digs and four aces. Mertens added 10 kills with one error for a .375 hitting percentage. She also had seven digs and four aces.

"We started off slow, then we picked things up," said Andrulis, a 5-8 sophomore outside hitter from Las Vegas. "We made a pretty strong comeback in the second set, even though we didn't win."

Ureno had five kills and two aces in the first set, helping the Vaqueros rally from an early 10-5 hole. They went on a 13-5 run, capped by a Ureno ace, a long hit by Mission (8-5) and an Andrulis kill for a 17-15 Vaquero lead. They extended it to 22-17 on a putaway by Mertens and won it 25-19 on a kill by middle blocker Grace Trocki (4 kills, 5 blocks).

The Eagles were in command for most of the second set, leading 20-9 and 22-13. A push kill by Andrulis ignited a scintillating 10-1 run. The Vaqueros tied it 23-all on two aces by McKenzie Garrison, a block by Trocki and Kiana Pisula and a kill in the middle by Trocki. Pisula had 36 assists and seven digs. Avery Mulvey was the dig leader with 17.

Mission pulled out the 25-23 win on back-to-back kills by Samantha Sedano.

"Mission is a scary team," said coach Ed Gover. "They are fundamentally sound, they serve extremely well, have two excellent hitters and their libero is solid. If you take them a little lightly after a big emotional win over Pierce, you can be in trouble against a scrappy team.

"Once we stopped missing our serves, we steadied ourselves and calmed down."

The Vaqueros dominated the third set, building leads of 8-3, 18-7 and 20-12. The fourth set was more of the same as SBCC went ahead 10-5 on a kill off the block by Andrulis and 19-8 on a solo block by Trocki. Mertens capped the win with a kill on the first match point.

The Vaqueros travel to Victor Valley on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. match.