Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 16-Blue team has taken the Junior Olympics in Miami by storm thus far, going undefeated in five matches through the first two days of competition. The team has earned the top seed heading into the 24-team playoff bracket of the American Division.
The biggest win was a 25-22, 25-8 crushing of OVA, an Orlando-based team which came in as the favorite.
“We couldn’t do anything wrong. It was one of those precious volleyball moments,” said assistant coach Dwayne Hauschild (the team’s head coach is Jake Hong).
Hauschild said that Eve Ettinger has been a big factor offensively while Paige Crane has been running the offense efficiently and Emma Campbell has been strong in leading the defense. He also highlighted the play of Katy Villanueva and Morgan Slater.
The squad has already beaten teams from all over the country, including Ohio, Minnesota, Nebraska and Missouri.
