The Vanden Lady Vikings took over sole possession of first place in the Solano County Athletic Conference after sweeping Benicia High’s varsity volleyball team, 25-17, 26-24, 25-21, Tuesday in Fairfield.

The Lady Panthers had a lead in all three sets but couldn’t put away Vanden, which improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the SCAC. Benicia dropped to 3-1 in the SCAC. The Lady Panthers had a 9-3 advantage in the third set, only to see Vanden come roaring back.

“It was competitive down to the end,” said Benicia head coach Jamie Hadenfeldt. “We knew Vanden was going to be tough and it’s always extra tough playing them at their place. They were pretty solid and well-rounded. We didn’t play poorly. Vanden is just a really good team with some big hitters and they played good defense.”

Benicia senior Jessica Blakeman was held to only six kills, well below her season average. Freshman Sara McBride led the Lady Panthers with 10 kills while Emily Maher added eight kills.

“Emily played the best I’ve seen her play all year and Semele Hargis did a good job in the middle,” Hadenfeldt said.

Other standouts for Benicia included Ramona Glatzel (eight digs) and Amanda Ajari (19 assists) and Natalie Sluga (12 assists).

Bailey Palestini had nine kills for Vanden and was a perfect 10-for-10 at the service line. Jordan Harvey was 12-for-12 with four aces, three digs and 12 assists, and Emily Casner had eight blocks and seven kills.

“We just never could find our groove,” Hadenfeldt said. “Every time we’d pull ahead, something would go against us.”

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