Andrulis, Pisula guide Vaqueros to eighth straight win

Carolyn Andrulis and Kiana Pisula registered double-doubles on Wednesday night, leading No. 3 SBCC to a 25-22, 25-13, 25-20 sweep of Cuesta in a WSC North women's volleyball match at the Sports Pavilion.

The Vaqueros (20-3, 5-0) won their eighth in a row and reached the 20-win plateau for the third straight year and the sixth time in Coach Ed Gover's 26-year tenure. The Vaqueros are 65-13 over the last three seasons.

Santa Barbara, which improved to 7-0 at home, is 15-1 in sets in conference play. Their only set loss came in the WSC opener on Oct. 14 at Cuesta.

The Cougars fell to 10-9 and 1-4 in conference.

Andrulis had 12 kills, 12 digs and four blocks while Pisula, a freshman setter from Sonora, Calif., had 25 assists, 14 digs and four kills. Kaylene Ureno added eight kills and 11 digs. Claire Bagdasar tied her season high with 20 digs.

"We played well and I was happy that it only went three games this time," said Ureno, a 5-9 freshman from Turlock, Calif. "We could have been a little quicker, so there's always things to work on before the playoffs."

The first set was tight throughout with nine ties. The last one came at 14-all and the Vaqueros went on a 6-2 run, capped by a block from Pisula and Jaela Caston. Isabella Thompson (4 kills, 3 blocks) drilled a kill off the block to cap the 25-22 victory.

The Vaqueros jumped ahead 7-2 and 16-9 in the second set. SBCC scored the last six points of the set, capped by a kill by Shannon Friend and a Cuesta net violation that secured the 25-13 win.

"Cuesta does some things that are very good and they're solid in their fundamentals," said Gover. "You have to be a little bit better and be careful of what they run. No. 6 (Maren Cracknell) was a real key to their offense when we played them the first time. Our serving was pretty good and that kept No. 6 out of their offense.

"When we serve well, we keep the opponent off-rhythm and they have to beat us at the pins which is going to be tough because our defense is so solid. We have a bunch of great defensive players and our block is strong. When our serving puts pressure on their defenders, then our passers will have a little easier time. Then we're in a transition game which I like to be in."

The Cougars took a 19-17 lead in the third set when Anais Fay hit a kill off the tape. Friend got a sideout on a kill through the block, sparking an 8-1 match-ending run. Karissa Mertens entered for the first time and she delivered an ace on her second serve during a 4-0 service run that gave the Vaqueros a 22-19 lead. Pisula made a dump shot for the 23rd point and Cuesta errors provided the last two points in the 25-20 triumph.

"We like to preach 'calm intensity,' " said Gover. "Our girls don't get too high or too low. If the other team has a 3-point run, it doesn't bother us. We like to stay steady and we know we can come back."

The Vaqueros have a bye on Friday, then travel to Ventura for a 6 p.m. match on Wednesday.