The City College women’s volleyball team demolished Victor Valley in front of a small crowd at the Sports Pavilion on Friday evening, Oct. 7.

The Vaqueros started off hot with a 16-3 start before the overwhelmed Rams called timeout. The Vaqueros swept the Rams in three sets; 25-5, 25-10 and 25-21.

“We were very efficient in each of the first two sets tonight,” said head coach Ed Gover. “Our team as a whole did a good job of setting the tone early.”

The Vaqueros had twelve kills in the first set with no errors. One player that stood out from the get-go was Kaylene Ureno.

“We try to have very intense practices in preparation for our competition,” said Ureno. “Our team has had a lot-high spirited practices recently and it reflected with our good team play.”

The Vaqueros came out even stronger in the second set. They were up 15-2 after a block by Isabella Thompson and Karissa Mertins.

Ureno gassed the Rams all night with 10 kills, six digs, and a .500 hitting percentage. The Rams could not seem to dig anything Ureno hit on their side of the net.

Ureno did not kill the Rams spirit, however. By the third set, their rallies were starting to wear out the powerful Vaquero as they trailed 18-16 at one point. Coach Gover inspired a 9-3 run to finish the set 25-21 in the Vaqueros favor. The highlights of their final lap included kills from Brooke Pumo and Isabella Bean.

“We had a rocky start to the third set,” said Kiana Pisula. “Our energy really prevailed and we executed a great finish to cap off a great team win.”

The third-ranked Vaqueros ultimately won their fourteenth match of the season with a grand total of 46 digs and 44 kills.

They came out and proved in front of the small crowd at the Sports Pavilion they can compete for a state title this year.

Both coaches and players have felt the team has not reached their pinnacle yet as they have a much larger prize in their sight. The only opponent that has defeated City College’s women’s volleyball team this year is Pierce. A team the Vaquero’s feel they can compete with in a future match.

“Pierce has won the mental game the first few meetings this year,” said Ureno. “But we do know we can compete with them any match.

Coach Gover noted that Ureno and the rest of the Vaqueros should have their sights on other teams.

“Mira Costa and Grossmont are two teams that can compete for a championship,” said Gover. “We have yet to beat Pierce so the championship is really up-in-the-air as far as teams that can earn it.”

The Vaqueros look to extend their winning streak to four games at the Sports Pavilion on Wednesday when they welcome Citrus College.