It was Lelani Howard’s kill soaring out of bounds that capped off a night where nothing seemed to go right, as the Ventura College Pirates dropped their first match of the season in four sets (18-25, 25-21, 20-25, 10-25) to the Bakersfield Renegades.

Outside hitter Chelsea O’Mara led the team with 13 kills, while sophomore leader Justine O’Connor had 31 assists, in a night filled with sloppy play and a constant battle to fight back from early deficits.

The Renegades were consistent from the beginning, gaining a 6-3 lead in the first match, pulling it to 10-4 on great digs and stellar kills from sophomore outside hitter Sally Ceja. The Renegades led by as much as 8 points, and the Pirates were only able to cut the lead to 21-17 before losing the match 25-18.

The Pirates seemed to play better in the second match, and were the first to score. They took the lead for the first time 10-9, and the rest of the match was a back-and-forth battle. Tied at 21-21, the Pirates sealed the deal when Corissa Alvarez had a service fault, and the Pirates eventually won the match 25-21.

In the third set, the Pirates jumped out to a 7-2 lead, but completely lost their composure after that. The Renegades went on a 9-0 run to take the match away from the Pirates, taking an 11-7 lead before taking the match 25-20.

The momentum completely swung over to favor the Renegades, and after that big run in the fourth set, the Pirates folded like La-Z-Boys. The Renegades took advantage of some sloppy play, taking a 2-0 lead to start the fourth set, and eventually pushing that lead to 20-9, taking the set and match decisively 25-10.

Pirates head coach Mandy Rodriguez felt that the youth of this team, which only features one returning player, contributed to their inconsistent play.

“It’s a momentum thing,” she stated.

“They [Pirates] struggle with that.”

With the loss, the Pirates fall to 2-1 on the season, and hope to bounce back when they travel to El Camino College to participate in a tourney Friday, Sept. 11.

Rodriguez also feels that her team needs to work on relying on one another when they are struggling on the court. When they build this strong team cohesion, she feels the team can only get better.

“It’s a trust issue,” she said.

“It just takes time to build that with each other.”