The 15-Blue team, coached by Greg Gibbons and assisted by Todd Garrett, had a spectacular day Saturday in Anaheim this past week for the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club. The team beat arch-nemesis (and #1 seed overall) Mizuno Long Beach in 3 games to start the day!
A subsequent loss in their second match to SVVC 15’s didn’t stop the team from winning the 3rd match against San Gabriel 15-Elite to get second in their pool. In playoffs, the team continued to steamroll through the competition beating Surf City 15s 25-19, 25-14, Sunshine 15s 25-22 in the semifinals, and SCVC 15 25-21 in the finals.
Greg Gibbons was complimentary of his team and their big win! “The team played very hard and together as a team all day long. We started off the morning beating overall #1 Mizuno Long Beach and had a hard time refocusing and lost a tough match to SVVC. The team showed a lot of character by refocusing and going on to win the tournament! Everyone on the team shined with their effort and strong team play.”
Tina Brown’s 12-Blue team took second in their pool, and although they lost the first playoff round, maintained their Division 2 standing. Brown recaps the day, “We took second in our pool beating Wave, Culver City and losing to Club Jamba. Our first playoff match was played after a long, and I repeat long break, against Surfside, and we lost in two games. Nevertheless, we remain a strong division 2 team with some outstanding play from everyone. Against Wave, Hillary Bean had the best hit of the season, CRUSHING a ball from the middle, and Emily Lafitte went on a six point service run to take us from behind to victory. Phoebe Madsen did a great job as libero, laying out for some incredible digs!
Good Job by all the the SB 12 Smackers!”
The 15 White team has a tougher day, losing all three pool play matches, and the first playoff round, which ultimately bumped them down to Division 2. Coach Erica Downing mentioned, “We went 0-4 but learned a lot. There were times when we could play with the top teams! We now know what we need to work on to be able to play at the next level. Fiona Jessup was a great all around player for us and Nicole Tetherow played great defense and set a quick offense.”
Desiree Partlow’s 15-Red team also bumped down a division (from 4 to 5) despite winning a match in their pool. Partlow explains, “the team went 1-2 in their pool …we likely took 4th because our only win was against the fourth seed team who upset the 1st seed team…Our middles Sarah McKinny and Andrea Mullany played well both offensively and defensively in the middle and Ella Corpuz and Lindsey McFadden both did a great job trading off between playing outside hitter and setter.”
On Sunday in Anaheim, the 14-White team and 13 Blue teams fared very well by winning their pools and both moving up to division 4! The 13 Blue team won all of its matches, while the 14-White team went 2-1, but finished in a 3-way tie and received 1st place. Matt Schroeder and Connor Hastings collaborated about their team, “In their first tournament at the “Pyramid” at CSU Long Beach, the 14-White piled up a stack of wins in their first two matches that even the Egyptians would have beheld in wonder…an achievement that could not be eroded by a 2-0 loss in their final match, allowing them to place first in pool. Sammi “The Velvet Hammer” Rhine unleashed a torrent of spikes and well placed serves which were a key component in the team’s critical three-set victory in its second match. Libero Mia Cattaneo made a triumphant return from injury, providing the rock-solid foundation of leadership and back-row play that the team has come to rely upon. Rose Huizenga’s defense and serving were a thorn in the opposition’s side for the duration of competition, and on a day when few hits would have generated a reading on a radar gun, Lauren Underwood put an authoritative end to numerous rallies with some heavy hitting that lent a sliver of credibility to the team’s designated “Boom!” celebration for kills.”
The 14 Blue team did not fare so well, unable to hold onto its Division 1 standing by losing all its matches throughout the day. “We had plenty of opportunities in each match but we just couldn’t figure it out, couldn’t find our groove,” said coach K.C. Collins. “There were some standout moments, like when Michaela Ford stepped in and made a run on the service line and some defense digs to close out one game win against TCA. But we didn’t put enough of the moments together, we couldn’t eek out a match win all day, and we glumly move to division 2. However, we know what to work on at practice and will come out fighting in our next competition!”
Jessie Fahey’s 13 White team went to 3 games in all of their pool play matches, playing well but ultimately going 1-2 for the day to finish 3rd and keeping them in division 8.
In San Diego on Sunday, the 16-White team, coached by Kayce Matthess, entered into a 3-way tie for first but ended up with 3rd in pool play due to a point-ratio tie breaker. The team managed to win their first playoff match round though, so the team kept their Division 3 standing. Matthess said, “Although the team suffered some injuries and illnesses throughout the week, the girls pulled together and stepped up to the strong competition. Lillie Hodges had to fill in at the Libero position and did a great job all day. Karina Evans was a big threat at the net all day, with 3-4 blocks per game. Morgan Riegert was steady as usual and really stepped up in the final playoff match versus Mavericks.”
Jake Hong’s 16-Blue team put up a good attempt battling tough competition, but could not stave off their opponents. Losing all its matches over the day, the team moves down to Division 2.
Katherine Hopkins 16-Red also entered into a 3-way tie, which ultimately landed in them in 4th place in their pool, bumping them down to Division 8.
“We went to 3 games in each match, just not being able to put all the pieces together and stay focused for every point until our last match,” Hopkins noted. “We beat the winners of the pool in a strong showing of how good the 16-Red can play. We really pulled everything together for that last match of the day. LeAnna Montelone had a strong day setting, while both middles Arabella Weston-Smith and Bianca Castro had an outstanding day on both offense and defense at the net.”
