The Lake Buena Vista Vipers pulled off a hard-fought 3-0 win over the Wekiva Mustangs Tuesday night, holding off a late rally in a tightly contested third set at Wekiva. The Vipers won 25-21, 25-11, 25-22, led by a dominant performance from captain Katelyn Pulver. 

Lake Buena Vista jumped out early in the first set behind Pulver, who notched two early kills and two aces to give the Vipers a 10-2 lead. Wekiva responded with Avianna Mater, who had another big night, delivering two kills from a set by Espada, and a screaming ace.  

Mater later added another kill and back-to-back aces in a four-point stretch, keeping the Mustangs within striking distance. 

But Pulver continued to attack with precision, adding three more kills and two aces. Despite Mater’s effort of six kills and four aces in the set, Lake Buena Vista regrouped behind the Pulver sisters, with Emily Pulver’s second kill forcing a Wekiva timeout at 23-19. The Vipers closed out the set 25-21 with help from late Mustang errors. 

The second set belonged almost entirely to Lake Buena Vista. Addison Meyer opened with an ace, and Pulver followed with two more aces to extend the lead to 10-2. The Vipers’ offense rolled, with Rosenwasser adding back-to-back aces and Estelle Aubert and Layla Adorno contributing three kills each.  

Wekiva managed just a handful of points, including two kills from Sanchez and a block by Ashley Touze. Pulver ended the set with her sixth kill of the match, and the Vipers cruised to a 25-11 victory. 

The third set offered a back-and-forth battle. Pulver opened with a clean kill, showing off not just power but precise placement, while Wekiva’s McFadden responded to keep the Mustangs close. Wekiva briefly took their first lead at 3-2, but Lake Buena Vista surged as Emily Pulver smashed a solo kill, followed by an ace from Katelyn. 

At this point in the match, Lake Buena Vista had racked up 29 kills to Wekiva’s 15. Mater with just about half of those, kept her team in it with a pair of kills and an ace to narrow the margin to 7-6. The set stayed tight, with both teams trading blows.  

After Lake Buena Vista went up 14-11, Wekiva refused to fold. Touze and Mancilla combined for a block and an ace to tie the score, 16-16, and Mater added her ninth and tenth kills, giving the Mustangs a brief lead. Sanchez extended Wekiva’s advantage to 20-16 with two more kills, then an ace from Laura Sanz forced a Viper timeout. 

The timeout proved pivotal. Lake Buena Vista returned with renewed energy, with Pulver tallying three kills to tie the score at 21 and forcing a Wekiva timeout. Gabia Butauskas added an ace to push the Vipers ahead 24-22. Sanchez kept Wekiva alive with a kill, but Pulver responded with a match-clinching kill, sealing the 25-22 set and the victory. 

Pulver finished with a match-high 13 kills and five aces, while Layla Adorno and Estelle Aubert contributed six and five kills, respectively.  

For Wekiva, Mater had 10 kills and five aces, Sanchez added six kills and an ace, Espada recorded 16 assists, and McFadden had three kills and a block. 

Lake Buena Vista’s Pulver-led offense was too strong in key moments to allow the Mustangs a comeback, as they are now 8-6 overall, and 2-0 in district play. Wekiva on the other hand, is now 5-8 and 0-2 in district play. 

The Mustangs get a six-day breather after playing three games in five days. They host Winter Springs at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct 6.