Caitlin Racich pounded 19 kills to lead the Dos Pueblos girls volleyball team to a thrilling 25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 21-25, 15-13 win over Thousand Oaks at Sovine Gym on Tuesday night.
The Chargers (2-1) trailed 13-12 in the final frame, but pulled it together for the win.
“It was a fun match because our kids never lost composure, and that’s key,” said coach Tina Brown.
Carly Wopat had 15 kills and sister Samantha added 11, with each twin committing only two errors. Racich only misfired once on the night.
“Thousand Oaks is a phenomenal team. They dug everything, and for our girls it was absolutely character-building,” said Brown, who also pointed to the setting of Sami Brown and Paige Crane as keys to the victory.
The Chargers’ depth showed as senior captain Laura Penner came in during crunch-time in the final set and played big at the middle-blocker spot, while Hannah Powers came in and anchored the back row, according to Brown.
DP heads down to the Dave Mohs Tournament in Orange County along with Santa Barbara and San Marcos this weekend.
SANTA BARBARA 3, ROYAL 1
Sophomore sensation Eve Ettinger put away 17 kills as Santa Barbara High improved to 3-0 with a road victory over Royal. Game scores were 25-15, 25-12, 23-25, 25-15.
Dons coach John Gannon had said before the season that a lack of experience might be a challenge for his team in the early going, but that has not been the case thus far.
“I’m not surprised because these girls just love playing volleyball. This group played more beach volleyball over the summer than any group I’ve had, and having Natalie Guerra return at setter for us as a senior has been invaluable,” he said.
Mimi Cutrell had 11 put-aways and Emily Rottman added 10 despite the Royal defense making “crazy one-armed stab-digs,” as described by assistant coach Lee Carlander.
The Dons host Oxnard on Thursday.
LAGUNA BLANCA 3, BISHOP DIEGO 0
The Owls prevailed 25-23, 25-13, 25-14 in the small-school showdown.
Katie Borden had 10 kills while Jenn Murphy had six digs. Coach Jim Alzina also noted the exceptional play of Amanda Schulenberg and Katherine Cronyn off the bench.
“With Katie B’s strong right arm, Murph’s cat-like quickness ad our solid bench play, we looked really good,” said Alzina.
Cardinals coach Joe Reiken called it a “bittersweet” match for his young team, which features five freshman starters.
“They have a lot of talented older players, but in the first game we played exceptionally well, to the point that it was anyone’s game,” he said.
Reiken’s Cardinals had 13 blocks on the evening.
CARPINTERIA 3, NORDHOFF 0
The Warriors shook off a tough weekend at the Laguna Blanca tourney by beating Nordhoff 25-13, 25-23, 26-24.
“This time we came out to play and really stayed focused the whole time,” said coach Katie Dolge. “We were down in the third game but put together a four-point run to win the game, which was nice.”
Libero Yadira Saldana collected 18 digs for the Warriors, who host Laguna Blanca on Thursday.
