Beach Volleyball Team Season Ends in Playoffs

The No. 9-seeded Ventura College beach volleyball team traveled to El Cajon Tuesday to take on No. 1 Grossmont and No. 8 Mt. San Antonio in the CCCAA Southern California Regionals. Unfortunately, the Pirates' season came to an end with a pair of 5-0 losses to the Griffins and Mounties, respectively.

Ventura faced a difficult task in the opener with No. 1-seeded Grossmont. The Griffins came into the post-season with a 19-2 record, riding a 13-match winning streak. Despite their best efforts following the long drive, the Pirates could not overcome the odds, falling 5-0 in their opening match of the day.

In the second contest of the day, Ventura faced No. 8 Mt. San Antonio College. Raphaella Rosales and Vanessa Ihrke got the contest off to a good start winning the opening set in the No. 1 match, but they could not hold the advantage, falling in three sets. The other Pirate pairs met the same fate as VC was swept by the Mounties.

The Western State Conference champion Pirates end the team season with a 16-6 overall record, including a perfect 12-0 conference campaign. They qualified fo rthe post-season for the third time in the four years of hte program's existence.

The season is not over just yet, however, as VC has three pairs headed to the CCCAA Southern California Pairs Championships. Rosales and Ihrke, Morgan Gallagher and Jordan Neria, and Brooklyn Wallet and Faith Mackie will be playing for a trip to the CCCAA State Championships in regional play on Friday May 3 at Irvine Valley College.