Brewer guides Vaqueros to 3-0 sweep

Gabi Brewer had a stellar all-around performance on Wednesday night, leading SBCC to a 25-12, 25-14, 25-15 sweep of the Cal Lutheran JV in a 63-minute match at the Sports Pavilion.

The freshman opposite from San Diego pounded 10 kills, hit a robust .474 and added eight digs and five aces. Middle blocker Madi Mullins contributed eight kills and four blocks. Makenzie Phelps added seven kills, a .385 hitting percentage, eight digs and three aces.

The Vaqueros have won four of their last five to boost their record to 5-8.

"We played better than we have against most teams," said Mullins, a 6-foot freshman from Foothill High in Tustin. "This wasn't a league match and we were a lot more confident because we knew if we lost, it wouldn't be the end of the world. We just wanted to get better tonight."

The Vaqueros built big leads in each set, using a 15-3 burst to take a 23-9 lead in the opener. Leading 10-7 in the second set, Mullins crushed a spike in the middle to ignite a 12-4 run. A block by Mullins and Maranda Newson gave the Vaqs a 22-11 advantage.

SBCC started fast in the third set, going up 9-2 as Phelps served three aces in four points. The advantage grew to 16-6 and 20-8 on kills by Phelps and Brewer. Mullins produced the 24th point with a kill and then ended the match with a powerful kill on a 1-set from Newson.

"I always tell the girls that we have to focus on getting better in every match," said first-year coach Kat Niksto. "You can't ever control the opponent, whether they're the best team in the country or the worst team in the country. We had a good week of practice and we've been a little under the weather with a couple of sicknesses going through the team.

"I thought we played a fairly clean match but as a perfectionist, I always want them to play better. I thought we did a good job of taking care of our side of the court."

Lauren Holsted, a freshman from Bishop Diego High, led in digs with 11 and Casey Crockett added nine.

"We had a goal to be positive in aces and we did that with 11 aces and eight errors," said Niksto. "And we had a 2.0 passing average, which is our highest of the year. We're making strides."

The Vaqueros will host Ventura on Friday at 6 p.m.