No. 23 Moorpark surprises No. 6 Vaqueros, 3-1

Moorpark won the first two sets by a total of five points on Wednesday night and went on to upset No. 6 SBCC 3-1 in a WSC North women's volleyball match. The scores at Moorpark were 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 26-24.

The Raiders, ranked 23rd in the state, improved to 8-5 and 3-0 in conference. The Vaqueros had their 13-match win streak snapped and fell to 15-5 and 1-1.

"We had a very slow start in the passing department," said coach Ed Gover. "It was a very hot gym and it was difficult for our team to get comfortable. We fell behind in the first two sets (16-11 in the first and 14-7 in second) and had to battle back.

"In the third set, we finally settled down and played a solid set."

The Vaqueros used a 9-4 run to take a 20-13 lead in the third set. Grace Trocki capped the 25-20 win with a block in the middle.

Carolyn Andrulis led Santa Barbara with 14 kills, 11 digs and three blocks. Karissa Mertens had 11 kills, 14 digs and four aces. Kaylene Ureno added eight kills, 14 digs and three blocks.

Avery Mulvey, a freshman libero from San Diego, had 25 digs, missing her season high by two. Kiana Pisula handed out 35 assists and made 15 digs. McKenzie Garrison had seven kills and seven blocks while Trocki had four kills and eight digs.

Moorpark took control of a back-and-forth game in the fourth set, using a 7-4 run to grab a 21-16 advantage. The Raiders led 24-20, then the Vaqueros came back to tie it at 24 on the serving of Mertens. A kill off the block by Andrulis made it 24-23 Moorpark and Mertens tied it with an ace. The Raiders ended it with a tip block in the middle and a long hit by the Vaqueros.

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