Santa Barbara City College’s women’s volleyball team has now won seven consecutive matches, and Saturday’s victories were perhaps the most impressive.
The No. 24 Vaqueros (7-1) defeated two top-10 teams, Fullerton and Golden West, at the Sports Pavilion behind strong performances from San Marcos High graduates Maria Mayer and Jenn Waddill as well as stellar setting and floor leadership by Santa Ynez High graduate Kelsey Soos.
The 25-19, 15-25, 25-22, 25-21 victory over ninth-ranked Golden West was SBCC’s first in school history, and it included a great comeback in the third set.
“I’m very pleased. What I enjoyed most was our composure,” said coach Ed Gover. “They stayed steady when they were down and just battled back.”
SBCC's Jenn Waddill, left, and Kelsey Soos.
Mayer had a team-high 12 kills in the match while Nicole Bergmann had 11 and Waddill added seven. Case Jenkins and Jake Kelly chipped in 13 digs apiece.The Vaqueros were down 13-6 in the third before storming back. Soos had consecutive aces to cut the Rustlers’ lead to 13-11, and Mayer had a solo block late in the set which gave the Vaqs their first lead at 23-22. Soos then followed with two more aces to close out the set.
The fourth and final game was close all the way through, but SBCC never relinquished the lead after breaking a 10-10 tie.
“Our passing was a lot better today, and we were just fired up about everything,” said Soos, who played on the same Santa Barbara Volleyball Club teams with Waddill in high school. “I love serving under pressure. It helps me place it better and I was just kind of picking on one girl over there.”
Soos said she thinks the team is capable of “going all the way.”
Although the tournament has no official MVP, Gover said that his young setter would deserve the award if there was one.
“She showed how diverse she is by using certain hitters in key situations,” he said.
In the morning match, the Vaqueros toppled No. 8 Fullerton 25-20, 26-24, 17-25, 27-25. Mayer pounded 11 kills and Bergmann had 10 kills with a .529 hitting clip. Jessica Tune and Waddill added eight kills apiece, as the Vaqueros rallied from a 17-14 deficit to win the fourth set in overtime.
