Vaqueros sweep to claim 4th WSC North title in 5 years

Madison Waddell and Jenna Anderson led a balanced attack with eight kills apiece on Wednesday night, guiding No. 7 SBCC to a 3-0 women's volleyball win over L.A. Mission in its final regular-season match at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 25-9, 25-16, 25-13.

It was the 10^th straight win for SBCC (17-7, 11-1) and secured its fourth WSC North title in the last five years. Santa Barbara will share the title with L.A. Pierce. The Vaqueros are 49-5 in WSC action over the past five seasons.

Waddell, one of six players honored on "Sophomore Night," hit a sizzling .615. Kristy Kearney added six kills and Jasmine Ward had five.

Eryn Young served 11 straight points, including three aces, as the Vaqueros built a 12-2 lead in the first set.

"It's always fun to honor the girls who gave two years to City College and bless their hearts, they're such great kids," said coach Ed Gover. "If you look at their body of work, they've won two conference titles and they're 21-1 the last two years. That's pretty impressive."

Ari Garner was the setter for the first two sets and Madelon Leiphardt set the third. The Vaqueros broke open a close second set with a 10-4 burst that made it 19-12. They enjoyed leads of 7-2, 15-6 and 22-11 in the third set.

Jane Petricka had nine digs and three aces while Lara Bangs added six digs and four aces.

"Tonight was all about playing for each other and finishing our last league game strong," said Garner, a 5-6 sophomore from Carmichael, Calif. "We're excited about opening the playoffs at home next week.

"We've got some good momentum going, we just need to come out and play like we have been the last few weeks. It's a little sad, thinking that my last home volleyball match is coming soon but this was a fun way to end the regular season."  

The Vaqueros, ranked No. 4 in Southern Cal, will open the playoffs on Tuesday, Nov. 26 with a likely home match. The pairings will be announced on Sunday.