Thousand Oaks, on Balance, Has the Better Team : High school volleyball: Lancers overcome Goth and sweep Buena with team effort in a wild-card match.

Balance is the key, stresses Thousand Oaks High girls’ volleyball Coach Ron Beick.

The Lancers have it. With two 6-foot-1 middle blockers--twin sisters Janie and Carrie Penfield--and bookend outside hitters Megan Falde and Keri Wetzsteon, their offense is diffuse and effectively diverse.

Buena, on the other hand, relies primarily on one player, middle blocker Rene Goth.

Guess which team won?

The Penfields each had 12 kills, Falde chipped in with eight and Wetzsteon added six as Thousand Oaks swept the Bulldogs, 15-10, 15-12, 15-13, Tuesday in a Southern Section Division I wild-card match.

“That’s good balance,” Beick said.

And a good match for the Lancers (15-10), who advanced to a first-round match against Marymount on Thursday. Buena finished its season at 10-5.

The Bulldogs made each game close, but ultimately could not defend against the twin towers inside and Falde and Wetzsteon outside.

“If I’m the outside hitter playing with them, I’m looking at a one-on-one opportunity almost every time, and you should beat (that defense) every time,” Buena Coach Jimmy Miranda said. “That’s what’s difficult. You can’t let (the Penfields) go because you know they’ll come through.”

Carrie Penfield registered a match-high 11 blocks, and Janie Penfield had only one hitting error to go with her dozen kills.

Thousand Oaks prevailed despite the gritty efforts of Goth, who had 15 kills and three blocks.

“She’s by far one of the best players in the county,” Miranda said of his 5-foot-11 senior.

Goth had six kills and two blocks in the second game as Buena’s good defense helped it to a 12-8 lead.

But Thousand Oaks rallied as Carrie Penfield had four kills during a 7-0 run to close the game.

Beick was pleased with the comeback and his team’s play, but cautioned that to advance further in the playoffs the Lancers must continue to pass the ball well so their offense can remain spread.

“Ball control dictates whether you can use the middles,” he said. “If you don’t pass well, it becomes an outside hitter’s game, and we’re not going to win those battles with some of these teams in the playoffs.”