Thousand Oaks volleyball swept Westlake 3-0 at home on Tuesday, Oct. 6, keeping the Lancers in the hunt for a CIF-Southern Section playoff berth.
Set scores: 25-19, 25-22 and 25-17. Thousand Oaks improved to 24-8 overall and 4-4 in the Marmonte League, holding third place in the standings, according to MaxPreps. Westlake fell to 9-10 and 3-5 in league play.
It was a reversal from Sept. 17, when Westlake beat the Lancers in five sets. The two teams entered Tuesday's match tied in the league standings.
Oaks Christian led the Marmonte League at 6-0 and Newbury Park sat second at 5-1 as of Oct. 1, according to the Ventura County Star's midseason rankings. The Lancers are chasing the league's third automatic CIF-SS playoff bid, the Star reported.
Newbury Park beat Thousand Oaks 3-1 on Sept. 24, snapping a six-match Lancers winning streak in the series dating to 2022. That loss looms large with the Panthers still on the schedule.
The season also carries personal stakes. Head coach James Park is in his 21st and final year leading the Lancers, the Star reported in its September rankings. Tuesday's match was the second-to-last time Park will coach in his home gym.
Junior pin hitter Saylor Halvorsen, the reigning Ventura County Star Girls Volleyball Player of the Year, led the attack with 22 kills, according to the Star's match recap. BYU commit Halle Bryce added 11 kills and three solo blocks. Park told the Star his hitters were effective because they were swinging high above the block.
"As long as the ball is high, they are able to swing," Park said, according to the Star. "Even after a few blocks they were able to put the ball away."
The Lancers' set record stands at 67-27 on the season. Two league matches remain: at Agoura on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 6:30 p.m. and home against Newbury Park on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 6:30 p.m. Westlake travels to Newbury Park on Thursday before hosting Oaks Christian on Oct. 13.
