The 20-win mark is something elite major-league pitchers will try to reach every year.
Santa Barbara High’s girls volleyball team does the same.
The No.2 Dons picked up their 20th win in the second round of the CIF Division I-A playoffs on Thursday, eliminating Canyon of Anaheim 25-15, 25-17, 23-25, 25-11.
“This group upheld the tradition and has done a really good job,” said coach John Gannon. “Twenty wins is not easy.”
University of Virginia-bound Emily Rottman led the way in the match, putting away 17 kills with 16 digs and three blocks.
“Emily is playing like a star right now. It’s really her defense that has been carrying us,” said Gannon, citing one play in particular in the third set where Rottman made a beautiful dig in the back row and received a pipe-set which she put away for a kill on the back line.
The third set, however, was a tough one for the Dons.
“We had a letdown in that game, and that’s something we’ve been doing. This team has to play with a purpose,” said Gannon.
Otherwise, it was strong defense and passing that lifted the Dons while Canyon struggled with errors.
The Comanches committed 10 unforced errors in the first set and 13 more in the second. Santa Barbara was better but not stellar, committing a total of 10 over that span.
“It was low energy to start for sure. We should have cleaned it up a bit, but we really finished out strong in the fourth game,” said libero Sarah Mendoza, who had a team-high 17 digs.
The Dons roared back after the lackluster third set, taking a commanding 17-5 lead after back-to-back aces by Katherine Keller. There was no letdown the rest of the way, and the match was appropriately ended on a left-side kill from Rottman.
Katy Villanueva had a strong match in the middle, notching a total of seven blocks including four in the first set.
The Dons (20-8) will play either Rancho Cucamonga or Arroyo Grande in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
