The Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 14-Smack team made it all the way to the finals of Division-II play this weekend in Anaheim and subsequently moved up to Division I.
After a disappointing finish in the previous qualifying round, the team had only one thing on its collective minds…Get to Division I.
“The team spent two weeks of focused practice with that goal in mind, and this past Saturday the hard work paid off,” explained coach KC Collins.
The team had a shaky start, beating Sunshine 14-South Bay in a close one 25-20, 21-25, 15-10, and New Wave 14-Platinum 25-18, 25-19.
“Our passing was precise, but then our setting was off, causing our hitters to struggle in both matches,” said Collins.
In the third match of pool play, the team came out focused and strong for a solid win over Temecula Valley 14-Rochelle 25-8, 25-15.
“Setter Sarah Scarminach set her mind to running a tighter offense, leading in assists and playing good defense, which helped us clinch that match,” said Collins.
From there the team didn’t look back, winning a playoff match in two sets against SMBC 14-Kristen, which moved the team up to Division I.
“Tessa Dewell stepped in and sparked the team with strong all-around play, while Teah Burdick’s tough float serves gained us runs of points in both games,” noted Collins.
The team also beat Mizuno Long Beach 13-Runbird in the semi-final match, but ultimately lost 23-25 in the finals to a tenacious Mavericks 13s.
“It was a great display of teamwork, and every player truly contributed to the success of the day.”
According to coach Matt Schroeder, the 14-White team’s day “turned out to be a marathon for the team with enormous amounts or volatility reminiscent of the 2008 Great Bear Market.”
The team beat Wave 14-Amber Spalding in two games to start the day, but then lost to Mizuno Long Beach 13-Mizuno and T-Street 14-Trestles in three games.
“The team struggled to attain any sort of consistent level of play, fluctuating between brilliance and sleep-walking,” said Schroeder.
Based on the 1-2 finish in its pool, the team found itself in a one-match battle against Tustin 14-1 to remain in DIvision II.
“The ‘do-or-die match,’ as it has been glossed in the past, was yet again a journey fraught with mercurial volleyball,” said Schroeder eloquently.
He noted steady play from Evanne Jimenez, and setter Brenna Geiger chasing down loose balls and errant passes. Geiger led the team with a 7-point serving run to win the match and solidify a spot in Division II.
Ed Gover’s 13-Smack team had one of their biggest matches of the season in pool play of Division III. The team started the day by barely losing to Mizuno Long Beach 14-Runbird 18-25, 25-16, 10-15 before beating Kern River 14-Elite.
In its last match of the pool, the team split the first two sets with Nevada Jrs 14-1. The team then engaged in a tooth-and-nail third game with a 23-21 victory to place second in pool play for the day.
Coach Gover especially praised the solid serving by Andie deWerd and Emily Allen in that match. The team lost a close quarterfinal playoff match against Sports Shack 14-1, droppong a lengthy first set 27-25 ad then dropping the second 25-19.
Gover’s team will remain in Division III.
The coach said he saw great hitting by Jackie Starnes and great setting from Alexis Rottman and Dane Miller.
The 14-Red team had a rough day, missing several players. The team lost to Pacific Jrs 14-1, SurfCity 14-Bryan, and Arsenal Kaepa 14-Elite. Despite having only six players and going 0-3 in the pool to place fourth, the team still had some great games.
“Dakota Niessen rose to the occasion, stepping in to be our only setter and Maddy Frohling played outstanding defense all day,” said Coach Deia Kidd-Kadlubek.
The team will compete in Division VIII for the next tournament.
The 13-White team, coached by Malinda Reese, had a long day of pool play with every match going to three sets. The team went 1-2, losing to Club West 14-Bronze and DeAnza VBC 13’s. The squad dropped its first set against Starlings South Bay 14-2 by a score of 25-19, but in the second game Sarah Kang made 10 serves in a row to bring Santa Barbara all the way bacj from a 24-16 deficit to win the game 26-24. That led to a win in the third set, and the squad will remain in Division XIII.
On Sunday, the 18-Smack won its pool in Division I, but ran out of steam in the quarterfinals.
The team beat OCVBC 18-Roxy, Mizuno Long Beach 17-Rockstar and Club West 18-Elite in pool play, then moved into the first playoff round against Wave 18-Jeanne Spalding. A 3-set battle was ultimately lost 22-25, 25-10, 13-15, and the team finished fifth.
“Sam Wopat was hammering balls on the left side for us all day while Taylor Racich did a great job of blocking on the right,” said coach Lee Nelson. “Emily Rottman was her normal steady self passing and hitting, Katherine Keller played some solid aggressive defense, and we had some great play from both Sally Yingst and Eve Ettinger.”
Nelson, who is the Associate Head Coach for the UCSB men’s team, recently took over as head coach for the 18-Smack team.
“This was my first look at this squad in competition and I saw that we were capable of doing some great things on the court…I am happy with how the day went,” he said.
The 18-White team won all of its matches and placed first for the day in Division IV. The team beat Bakersfield 18-Rachel and T-Street 17-Trestles in two games, and engaged in a barn-burner match against San Diego 17-1s, winning 15-13 in the third game to win the pool. The team then beat Sunshine 17-South Bay 25-23, 26-24 in the quarterfinal playoff match.
“Heidi Vandenoever’s fast float serve kept us in the game in our first playoff match,” said coach Shalen Williams.
The team was down 20-24 the second game and came back to win 26-24 thanks to some clutch serving and digging from Vandenoever.
The team then went on to beat SVVC 18-Christy in the semis, and Bakersfield Club Jamba 18-Kim in the finals.
“Jackie Harvey was our go-to outside hitter, playing with a level head all day and was a great leader on the court,” said Williams. “She iced our winning streak with the last kill of the day.”
The team will move back up into Division III for its next tournament.
The Santa Barbara 17-Smack team went 1-2 in its pool and placed third. The team lost to Smack 18-Smack and Coast VBC 18-2 and beat Formula One 18-Gold.
“Against Coast, it was a great match but a tough loss 20-25, 25-27,” remarked Coach Angie Erdmann. “Bianca Castro sparked the court with her middle hitting and blocking and Katie Shea led the team with a couple of strong serving strings.”
Despite the two losses, the team came out strong against Formula One and won the match in two games.
“Arika Johnson and Bianca Castro were on fire from the middle with great sets from Laura Masho and Tristan Racich. Katie Schuster had big blocks on the right side,” said Erdmann, whose team will remain in Division 8 for the next tournament.
Also on Sunday, the 16-Smack squad headed to San Diego for a Division I competition.
Entering as the lowest-seeded team in its pool, the team managed to take down the higher-seeded Laguna Beach 16-Hava, Impact 16-Bryan, and Golden West 16-Asics, to finish on top. Going into playoffs, the team knew it would be a real battle against Sunshine 16-Sunshine, and lost the nail-biter match 27-29, 25-15, and 18-16.
“Though we came up a little short in the playoff match, we still managed to move up in rankings,” said coach Greg Novak. “The outstanding performance displayed by the entire team made the long trip to San Diego worthwhile!”
