It was a busy weekend for the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club teams, finishing up their qualifying rounds to secure the divisional placement to start the regular season.
On Saturday in Anaheim, Greg Novak’s 16-Smack team took first on the day in the Gold Bracket, cruising through its first two matches by beating New Wave 25-10, 25-12 and 805 Elite 25-18, 25-15.
“The team’s near-perfect passing allowed us to easily sweep the first two opponents of the day,” said Novak.
Sydney Riegert goes up for a block while Emma Eccles covers. (Jimmy Hodson photo)
In the last match, the passing broke down just enough to let Orange County take the first game, but the team won the match in three sets 21-25, 25-12, 15-11. The team will begin its regular season among the top 16 teams in Division I.
On Sunday in Anaheim, the 13-Smack, 14-Smack and 14-White teams all competed in the Gold Bracket, while the 14-Red and 13-White battled in the Silver and Copper Brackets, respectively.
The 14-Smack team quickly dispensed of OCVBC 13-Blue and Vision Zone 13-Elite in two games each. The team then met with a heartbreaking loss to Golden West 14-Asics in threegames. The match was for a spot in Division I and only one team would take that spot.
“Unfortunately it wasn’t us,” said Coach K.C. Collins.
The team came out like a fireball taking over the match, playing aggressively to take the first set 25-14. However, Golden West came back just as fierce in game two and three winning 25-16 and 15-3.
“They especially had one server that just completely shook us up to start of each of those games with a large deficit. Overall though, Golden West was a formidable opponent and it was an amazing level of play on both sides. We look forward to a re-match!” Collins remarked.
She also added, “I was proud of how the whole team played together. Hitters Sydney Riegert, Hayley Hodson and Mariah Bell were on fire all day while Melissa Scott and Kayla Klopstein played some especially good defense.”
Matt Schroeder’s 14-White team will join the 14-Smack team in Division II after going 2-1 for the day, beating Club West 13-Elite in a tough 3-game battle.
“Grace Woolf had a phenomenal day in the middle to help the 14-White knock out a highly talented Club West team,” said Schroeder.
The team went on to beat Supernova 14s in two games, and then lost to Impact 14-Craig in two games. Schroeder was happy with his team’s competitive play for the day and looks forward to the competition ahead.
The 13-Smack team, coached by Ed Gover, also competed in the Gold Bracket. The team beat Wave 13-Nicole 25-6, 25-20, and then lost to Commerce Crush in a very close 2-gamer with the 2nd game going 28-26. The team also lost a close match to T-Street 14-Trestles 25-21, 25-21. Overall, the 13-Smack finished 3rd for the day which will place the team in Division III to start.
Deia Kidd’s 14-Red, competing in the Silver Bracket, went 1-2 to finish third.
“The first match was a thriller, playing Impact 13-Kevin beating them in three, with the final game going to 17-15!” said Kidd. “Amy Cregan stepped up her game playing a new position as middle blocker and jump-served great all day.”
The team then lost to California Heat 14-Blaze and TCA SB 14-Black despite an aggressive effort.
“Olivia Pickett and Madeline Frohling both had the most amazing digs bringing the crowd to cheers of delight in our final match,” said Kidd, whose team will begin its regular season in Division VII.
The 13-white team placed first in its pool in the Copper Bracket. Beating SouthBay 14-Gold in the first match proved to be a key win. The team then lost to San Gabriel 14-Momentum. The final match of the day against Culver 14-Marty went to three games, with the 13-White winning the tight battle. Tying for first with SouthBay, the squad had a head-to-head tiebreaker and finished on top.
“The win against Culver would not have been possible without Hannah Craig’s tremendous serving,” said coach Malinda Reese.
The team will start their season in Division XIII.
Also on Sunday, the 15’s teams took to the courts in San Diego. The 15-Smack and 15-White teams, competing in the Gold Bracket, both placed second for the day, placing both teams in Division II to start the regular season.
The 15-Smack team started out with a loss to 900sqft 15-Lance.
“We had a tough time waking up,” said Coach Dwayne Hauschild. “Fortunately we bounced back to finish in second place overall.”
The team beat Club Jamba 15-Lauren and RanchoValley 15-Cat in 2 games each. Hauschild added that it was a great day for Anika Bastanchury, as well as Katherine Crook and Emma Craine.
The 15-White team won solid matches against Impact 15-Mitch 25-22, 25-23 and Bakersfield 15 Jodi 25-15, 18-25, 15-12 before succumbing to the top seed in the pool, Sushine 15-Westside 25-15, 25-19.
“Outstanding play from Libero Mia Cattaneo and defense from Michaela Ford helped solidify the back row passing, and Colleen O’Connor’s consistent serving and hitting throughout the day contributed to the outcome of the matches.” said coach John Sener. “This team plays with incredible heart against consistently bigger teams”.
The 15-Red team took second place in the Sliver Bracket the “hard way”. The team lost to Nevada Jrs. 15’s 25-17, 18-25, 15-10 , beat OCVBC 15-Red 25-16, 25-14, but lost a close match to AVVC 15-Bronze 25-16, 25-23.
The team finished in a 3-way tie and by a point ratio tie breaker, took second place for the tournament.
“Our strength was our serving, our defense and our ability to keep the ball in play until the other team made a mistake. We are very happy with the outcome of the day,” said coach Mickey Caughey
The team will begin the regular season in Division VI.
