DP stays focused, mounts huge comeback over Dons

Up 2-0, Santa Barbara smelled blood.

Dos Pueblos found a band-aid and stopped the bleeding.

Tuesday night’s girls volleyball match lived up to the hype and then some, as the Chargers stormed back after dropping the first two sets to defeat the Dons 23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-13, 15-13 in front of a roaring crowd at Sovine Gym.

Dos Pueblos could have easily said “here we go again” after losing the first two games. After all, the last time the teams met was November’s CIF Finals at Rob Gym, in which the Dons swept the Chargers after having lost to them both times in the regular season.

But that’s not what they were saying.

“We were telling them to get ready for a long night, because we were going to five,” said DP assistant coach Greg Novak.

After missing 12 serves and struggling with their passing in the first two games, the Chargers missed just three serves the rest of the way and controlled the ball enough to feed their big guns.

Samantha Wopat finished with 19 kills on just three errors to go along with eight digs and seven aces. Her sister Carly put away 18 kills with three solo blocks while Sally Yingst added 15 kills on 30 attempts with no errors.

DP setter Paige Craine certainly had the demons of last November exorcised after the match.

“I’m all sunshine and happiness right now,” she said with a grin.

Santa Barbara had a 12-11 lead in the fifth game before a net violation and hitting error put DP in the driver’s seat at 13-12. A cut-shot by Sammie Brown went wide to tie it up at 13-13, but Brown and Carly Wopat came back with a huge block to force match point. A long and suspenseful rally ensued before the ball went into the net on Santa Barbara’s side and the DP student section stormed the court.

CHARGERS TEAM PAGE

DONS TEAM PAGE

“In the third game they really implemented a tougher serve, and they were really tough in the fourth,” said Dons coach John Gannon. “You’re bound to have a game like that fourth one against a team like DP… I’m just so proud of my girls for the heart they showed throughout the match.”

Eve Ettinger notched 16 kills with four digs and two blocks for the Dons while Emily Rottman had 15 kills and 15 digs. Katherine Keller had 10 digs and as many kills, while libero Sarah Mendoza had 11 digs and made some great passes off of tough serves in the final set.

“This is the best of high school volleyball,” added Gannon. “The level of competition in this town is at an all-time high.”

The fact that seven players in the match have already committed to play at the college level is evidence of that.

The first set was back-and-forth the whole way until Rottman served two straight aces to force a DP timeout trailing 21-20. Keller added a kill on the right side but Brown and Carly Wopat nabbed a block and Sam Wopat served up an ace to make it 22-22. Three straight missed serves followed to put the Dons up 24-23, and Ettinger ended a long rally with a left-side kill to end it.

Keller had three aces in a 4-point span in the second that put Santa Barbara up 18-14, leaving DP looking deflated.

“Our game plan fell apart in the first two games because we couldn’t pass the ball,” said Novak. “We wanted to feed Carly in the middle but we couldn’t.”

The Stanford-bound middle did nab two kills down the stretch in the second to get it close, but Keller put a ball away on the right side to put Santa Barbara one game away from the sweep.

Brown broke a 14-14 tie with a kill in the third set and DP came alive, never relinquishing the lead and ending the game on a textbook roof block by the Wopat twins to end the game. The sisters accounted for eight kills and two aces as the Chargers dominated the fourth, and the chants of “C-I-F” from the Santa Barbara side were silent by the time the fifth set rolled around.

Novak and the rest of the Chargers know that the next matchup between the two teams — October 27th at J.R. Richards Gym — is going to be another dogfight.

“John is incredible when it comes to figuring out a way to win, and he’s gonna go over the film and they’re going to come after us,” he said.

Until then, DP will enjoy the sunshine and happiness.