They didn’t defend their title, but the Santa Barbara Dons still ended up with a very respectable third-place finish in this weekend’s prestigious Best of the West boys volleyball tournament in San Diego.
The Dons (6-2) defeated Orange Lutheran and Long Beach Wilson in 3-set matches before falling to eventual-champion Mira Costa in the semifinals and agreeing to split third place with a similarly exhausted San Clemente squad.
Dos Pueblos finished tied for 11th with Corona del Mar, while San Marcos took fourth in the bronze division after going 1-2 on the day with a win over Buchanan.
Santa Barbara coach Chad Arneson said that the Dons played some of their best volleyball in the morning’s early match, defeating Orange Lutheran 25-15, 19-25, 15-13 while effectively shutting down Pepperdine-bound opposite Maurice Torres. The coach said that captains Taylor Fauntleroy and Chris Pratt played exceptionally in the match and that Blake Crowe made some key pays along the way.
Next up was a 25-27, 25-18, 15-10 win over a scrappy Long Beach Wilson squad which included nice defense up at the net by big sophomore Clifford Anderson and consistency all-around from Tyler Worley. Mira Costa followed in the semifinals, serving the Dons tough en route to a 25-14 win in the first set. Santa Barbara jumped on the Mustangs early to take the second game 25-22, but Mira Costa came out on fire and dominated the deciding frame 15-2.
“They just played awesome out there, and I think it just came down to more experience on their side of the net,” said Arneson. “But we learned from it.”
Pratt and setter Sam Biscaro were all-tourney selections for the Dons, who host perennial non-league rival Valencia on Tuesday.
The Chargers (8-3), who went 2-1 in pool play Friday with wins over Bullard and Cathedral Catholic and a loss to Loyola, took down Edison handily to open things up Saturday. They then beat Valencia 22-25, 25-22, 15-6 before losing to Orange Lutheran 25-13, 28-26. Coach Chris Hughes said that Robbie Mestas and Cole Arutian played well throughout the tournament.
San Marcos (6-5) went 0-3 in the tournament’s toughest pool Friday, including a close loss to La Costa Canyon. The Royals made it to the bronze-division semifinals after beating Buchanan 25-23, 25-22, setting up a matchup against Granite Bay, a realtively unknown opponent from Sacramento.
The Grizzlies, who feature future Long Beach State 49er Jack Powell, took down the Royals 25-23, 25-22. San Marcos went on to fall to Tesoro in the third-place game.
“I think we just got kind of tired towards the end,” said coach Roger Kuntz. “What this weekend did is highlight some of the areas we need to focus on.”
Kuntz said the Neil Greene continued to be somewhat of an “unsung hero” for the Royals, acting as the team’s most consistent passer and server in the tournament. Six-foot-7 middle blocker Kevin Davis also got to see some action and made some good blocks in his debut.
