The Santa Barbara Dons brought their No. 1 CIF ranking to Sovine Gym.
Dos Pueblos made sure they went home without it.
As far as excitement goes, girls volleyball matches don’t get much better than the No. 3 Chargers’ 20-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-23 victory Tuesday night.
“I’m just speechless… This is the most memorable match I’ve ever played in,” said Pepperdine-bound DP senior Caitlin Racich, who went from naturally energetic to bonkers after the final ball dropped. It was her first win over the Dons.
“We just came out so fired up. Whoever brought the most energy into this match was going to win it, and we did,” she said.
Meanwhile, Santa Barbara’s Hadley Simmons was already thinking about a rematch.
“I want to beat them sooooo bad. You can’t even write how badly I want to beat them,” she said.
It was all about balance for the Chargers. Eleven kills for Sam Wopat, 10 for twin-sister Carly and 10 for Racich. Ten digs by Carly, nine by Hannah Powers and seven by Racich. Three blocks each from Carly, Racich and Laura Penner. Sami Brown dished out 23 assists while Paige Crane added 20.
The crowd numbers were also balanced, as Santa Barbara’s student body was well-represented in a cross-court war of chants with DP’s throng of supporters.
“This was big because it was a crosstown match,” said DP coach Hauschild. “Every year we try to win the Channel League, and we’re in a good position for that now. We have one more brawl with ’em, so I hope it goes the same way.”
Things weren’t going the Dons’ way in the first, when a seven-point DP run put the hosts up 17-15. But Mimi Cuttrell picked up a block and Emily Rottman had two kills and an ace down the stretch to tip it back in Santa Barbara’s favor.
The Chargers (13-2, 4-0) were hardly deterred after losing the first set, however, storming out to a 7-2 advantage to begin the second. Penner tallied a solo block in the middle to make it 13-4, and the home crowd really started to boil over when Carly Wopat detonated a quick set in the middle at 20-12. Penner finished off the game with another block.
Things were tight towards the end of the third, but a long rally ended with a Carly Wopat kill to push the DP lead to 23-21. Penner scored the final point once again just a few plays later, this time hammering a ball from the middle.
“It felt so amazing to get a game-winning kill, especially against Santa Barbara,” said Penner, a senior captain who started the season as a reserve and initially wasn’t sure she’d even get any playing time in the much-hyped match.
DP was up 19-16 in the fourth set when Simmons picked up a big solo block and let out a roar across the net at the Chargers. She would add a pair of big aces in the coming moments, but the hosts held on.
The Charger student section began chanting “o-ver-rat-ed!” just before match point.
Not to be overlooked was the defensive play of both teams, as the big arm-swings on both sides had to deal with some great digging. Junior libero Katherine Keller racked up 20 digs for Santa Barbara, including an impressive one-armed stab of a blasted spike in the third game.
It appears as if the top spot in the Division-II polls will have a home out in Goleta for now, but Simmons and the Dons (17-2, 3-1) will be hungry for their shot at revenge on November 6th at J.R. Richards Gym.
It should be a dandy.
(photos by Blake Dorfman / PresidioPics)
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- Emily Rottman played on the 2008 CIF Championship team at Santa Barbara High.
What a wonderfully healthy volleyball community we have in this town. Quality coaches, superb athletes and appreciative fans. Thursday’s game is just further evidence. It represents years of commitment by these players their families and all the work and ambition they’ve shared.
This article is another feather in our local subculture’s cap. It’s nice to see good writing and technology conspire to give the public something worthy of the event. We are lucky indeed.
Jon Lee
ex San Marcos coach