Ureno sparks 3-0 home sweep of Victor Valley

Kaylene Ureno pounded 10 kills and hit .500 on Friday night as No. 3 SBCC cruised past Victor Valley 25-5, 25-10, 25-21 in a nonconference women's volleyball match at the Sports Pavilion.

It was the third home appearance for the state's No. 3-ranked Vaqueros (14-3) this year and their first on a Friday. They're 3-0 at home this season and 31-2 over the last 3½  years. They played 14 of their first 16 matches on the road or at neutral sites.

The Vaqueros built a 13-2 lead in the first set on an ace by Carolyn Andrulis, a dump by Kiana Pisula and a hitting error by the Rams (5-11). A block by Andrulis and a hit into the net by the visitors capped the 25-5 victory, SBCC's largest victory margin of the year.

Santa Barbara hit .632 in the first set (12 kills, no errors) and a sizzling .739 in the second set (18 kills, 1 error). The Vaqueros hit a season-high .451 on the night.

"The first two sets, we were really strong and give kudos to our libero, Claire Bagdasar," said Hillary Bean, a sophomore libero from Dos Pueblos High. "Claire passed with her A-game tonight and all of our hitters really killed the ball."

The Vaqueros jumped ahead 15-2 in the second set on a block by Isabella Thompson and Karissa Mertens. Brooke Pumo got a kill for the 18th point and Bean delivered a crosscourt kill to make it 21-6.

 "That was my first kill in a while," said Bean, who had three kills to double her season total to six. "It was really fun to be able to hit again."

Carolyn Andrulis added nine kills, eight digs and a .471 hitting percentage and Shannon Friend had six kills. Thompson racked up five kills and an .833 percentage while Pisula had three kills, two aces, eight digs and 28 assists.

Bagdasar was the dig leader with 10.

The Vaqueros trailed 18-16 in the third set before rallying to take a 23-19 advantage on a backrow kill by Bean. Andrulis capped the 25-21 win with a kill down the middle.

"We were very efficient and in-system," said coach Ed Gover. "The setting was clean and our hitters were in rhythm. Kaylene was on fire tonight. She came out with a different pace. She was hitting fast and hard. She hit me in warm-ups and it really hurt. She had a fantastic match.

"Carolyn was her usual steady self and Shannon was ripping balls. We got the bench in and they kept the energy going. It was really good to see. In the third set, we gave up a few points but I wasn't worried because we were still siding out."

The Vaqueros host Citrus on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in their final nonconference match.