SBCC rode a balanced attack and 13 service aces to a 25-15, 25-19, 25-17 women’s volleyball sweep of Cuesta on Tuesday night in the Sports Pavilion.
Freshman setter Kelsey Soos had six aces and Emilia Shugrue collected 10 kills and two aces for the Vaqueros (16-2, 5-1 WSC North), who’ve won 16 of their last 17 matches. SBCC, ranked No. 6 in the state, improved to 10-0 at home this year and stretched its home winning streak to 14.
SBCC's Emilia Shugrue at the net for a block during the Vaqueros' sweep.
“We played really well together,” said Shugrue, who started in place of Jessica Tune, who’s recovering from the flu. “We kept pushing and didn’t let up.”
It was Santa Barbara’s second win over Cuesta (5-12, 2-4) in six days.
Antonia Antes added nine kills and hit .350. Maria Mayer collected eight kills, Jenn Waddill had seven and Nicole Bergmann notched six. Waddill and Bergmann, a pair of freshman middle blockers who rank 1-2 among WSC hitters, were very efficient with hitting percentages of .400 and .667, respectively.
“We have so much talent, we can go to anyone and put the ball away,” noted Waddill, a 6-1 freshman from San Marcos High.
Jake Kelly, a 22-year-old freshman who played basketball at the University of Pacific, had 19 digs.
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 14-5 lead in the first set, following consecutive aces by Chelsea Forrey. Soos capped off the second set with an ace and opened the third with three aces that staked the Vaqueros to a 5-1 lead. They enjoyed leads of 12-4 and 21-12 before Shugrue ended the match with another ace.
“It was a solid performance,” said coach Ed Gover. “Kelsey Soos did an excellent job of distributing the sets to all our hitters and her serving kept them on their heels. Our middles were impressive and the outsides were equally solid.”
SBCC travels to Oxnard on Friday before playing host to No. 3 Moorpark on Tuesday.
