Santa Barbara High came into Tuesday night’s girls volleyball match a heavy favorite over visiting San Marcos, but a rivalry win is always sweet.
“San Marcos, for me, is always a big match,” said Dons assistant Lee Carlander, a 1990 graduate of SBHS. “Back in the day they had Dax (Holdren) and Todd Rogers, and we always had huge battles with them. They’re a good team, and it’s always nice to pick up a win against them.”
Mimi Cuttrell led the way with nine kills in the top-ranked Dons’ 25-16, 25-18, 25-20 sweep of the Royals. Emily Rottman added eight kills and Hadley Simmons had four kills with two blocks.
The Channel League is a tough conference to be in this year due to the juggernaut-status of Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos, but San Marcos knows it is a playoff-caliber team and will nee
d to keep fighting for the third and final CIF berth available in the league. Thursday’s match against Ventura will be crucial in that fight.
“We are a good volleyball team, but everybody’s got to be contributing for us to be good. We’re just going to have to stay focused,” said coach Roger Kuntz.
Service errors and early passing struggles were the Royals’ downfall in front of a sizable Santa Barbara student section at J.R. Richards gym. The third game was tied at 9-9, but every time the Royals got a break a missed serve seemed to get in the way.
“It was the serving and the passing tonight. Our passing did improve as the match went on, though,” said Kuntz.
Flo Chardon had 10 kills for San Marcos.
It’s not only the Royals (7-6, 1-2) who have a big match on Thursday, as the much-anticipated showdown between Santa Barbara (16-2, 3-0) and Dos Pueblos (12-2, 3-0) will be going on simultaneously at Sovine Gym. The No. 1 Dons will have a serious battle on their hands against the Chargers, who have a starting lineup that Kuntz called one of the best in the country.
“We’re excited to play them finally. I think we have a good chance if we just push hard like we did in the Redondo match,” said Cuttrell, referring to Saturday’s sweep over traditional-powerhouse Redondo Union.
DP coach Dwayne Hauschild, who graduated from San Marcos in 1988, was on those teams with Holdren and Rogers that used to battle against Carlander and the Dons.
“I’m trying to take Hauschild to lunch… We’re going to break bread before the big dance,” said Carlander.
They’ll hit the dance floor at 6:30 p.m.
