PATRICK SHELBY/Acorn Newspapers TOUGH LOSS-Moorpark's Graeme Bill smashes a shot past the outstretched arms of Thousand Oaks' Trevor Neff Wednesday night. The Moorpark High boys' volleyball team got a first-hand look at why Thousand Oaks is among the best in the Marmonte League Wednesday night, as the Musketeers were swept by the Lancers, 3-0, by scores of 25-13, 25-11 and 25-17.

Stephen Novak had 13 assists and Brandon Nuckles had 13 digs, but Thousand Oaks got big efforts from Cole Reinholm, who had 14 kills, and Jason Spangler with nine kills.

In the first game, Moorpark stayed close, trailing only 10-7 before the Lancers ran off three points in a row to lead 13 -7, and forcing a Moorpark timeout.

The Lancers scored two more points after the timeout, and Moorpark could never recover, as the Lancer lead peaked at nine on two different occasions on their way to the easy win.

The second game started much like the first game, with Moorpark staying close to Thousand Oaks, and eventually tying the game at five points apiece on an ace by John Martinez.

Thousand Oaks, however, soon caught fire.

The Lancers started out by scoring three points in a row to force a Musketeer timeout, but that was only the beginning, as the Lancers ran off seven more points, forcing yet another Moorpark timeout.

Moorpark finally got a point when Graeme Bill smashed a kill off Trevor Van Uden, but Thousand Oaks continued to roll, going on a 4-0 run to lead 19-6. Thousand Oaks eventually won, 25-11.

"We obviously had a passing problem, as No. 8 (Reinholm) scored 15 points on us on serves," Moorpark head coach Angela Yule said.

Both teams traded the first four points to start the third match until Thousand Oaks scored the next three to lead 5-2.

The Lancers then scored five of the next seven points to lead 10-4. Thousand Oaks expanded its lead to 13-6 before Moorpark started to show signs of life. Kent Hartnett snuck a tip past the Thousand Oaks defense. TOHS was then called for a net violation, and a Jason Spangler return went into the net, cutting the Musketeer deficit to 13-9.

Moorpark continued to stay close, but the Lancers wouldn't buckle, as a three-point spurt gave Thousand Oaks a 20-13 lead. The Lancers went on to win the game, 25-17, and with it, the match.

Yule said her team needs to work on its passing and blocking if they want to turn the season around.

"We do a lot of passing practice," Yule said. "You can't run an offense unless you have a pass, so we have been doing a lot of that and just working with our middle blockers, consistently getting them to block and read where the blockers are hitting, so that's where our focus is going to be."

Thousand Oaks is now 11-3, 5-1 in the Marmonte League, while Moorpark slides to 2-7, 1-6 in league play. Moorpark will host Newbury Park Friday at 6 p.m.