The Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 15-Blue team, seeded in a power pool of the top 8 teams in their division, finished 2nd overall in the last mandatory tournament, losing to nemesis Long Beach 25-23 in the final set in the championship round.
“We got a little revenge in pool play beating Wave-14s 25-13, 25-20, who destroyed us in the first tourney of the year. We also beat Wave 15s in the semi’s 25-10,” said coach Greg Gibbons.
Assistant coach Todd Garrett added, “Katie Spieler played out of her mind digging everything that came her way. Dani Rottman was consistent all day long hitting on the outside, and Danae Theiler came in and passed some perfect balls for us. Lina Kleinschmidt had several important serving runs that helped us throughout the day.”
Kara Weirum’s 15-White team had a good run against tough competition keeping themselves in Division 2. The team finished 3rd in pool but went on to playoffs, and according to Coach Weirum, “played unbelievable.” The team not only won both playoff matches, but they kept the opponents in the lower teens for their score.
“Kira Schleich and Hannah Harris went on great serving runs for us through out the day. Ellen Hemming played awesome as a utility player and did really well hitting out of the middle. Mackenzie Scarborough and Amanda Moriarty did great job passing and our serve receive was the best it has been in months,” Weirum added. “I was very proud of the success the girls showed this weekend when they were faced with the adversity of the Jesusita Fire.”
The 15-Red team, coached by Desiree Partlow, went 1-2 matches to take third place and remain in Division 4. Partlow pointed out, “Leila Nathan did a great job for us in the back row and Sarah McKinney, Andrea Mullaney and Susie Weaver all did a great job both offensively and defensively for us in the front row.”
Tina Brown’s 12 Blue team a tough weekend, playing against some of the strongest teams in the 12s division, and coming away with 4 match losses.
“(Assistant Coach) Deia Kidd and I were really proud of their fight and determination after an emotionally draining week in Santa Barbara, with most of them being directly affected by the fires — either from being evacuated or housing friends and family who were evacuated,” said Brown. “They fought and battled against a strong Wave team, Club West team and Mavericks, just to fall short. Dane Miller and Lexi Rottman held the team together, setting well and making some amazing defensive plays. So, all and all, a great learning experience for our awesome 12’s!”
These teams will play their final Southern California two-day Regional tournament over Memorial Weekend.
