On Saturday in Anaheim, the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club 12-Smack team won all of its matches in pool play to place first for the day and move up to Division V. The team beat San Gabriel 12-Premiere 25-20, 24-26, 15-8, Sunshine 12-Premiere 25-23, 25-20, and TCA OC 12-Pink 25-20, 25-21.
“It was an exciting day for the 12-Smack with everyone contributing to the win,” said coach Cary Whittaker. She was impressed with Lourda Weger who “…served tough all day with some great kills in the front row” and Gabi Peoples who “set especially well during the day.”
Dwayne Hauschild’s 15-Smack team set out to make a run for Division I, and did just that by placing second overall in Division II. The team came in seeded third in its pool and had to start the day playing the top-seeded team, Wave 15-Janna Spalding. They won 25-19, 25-23 and then beat Mavericks15-1 by a score of 25-23, 25-18.
After losing a close 3-game battle to Ohana AC 15-1 to place second in the pool, the girls were put in a position to move up if they won the first playoff round. “The team ran through TCA 15-Black by beating them 25-13, 25 21!” said Hauschild excitedly. “In the semi-final match against SMBC, the team had a huge comeback to win 25-22!”
Mia Cattaneo of the 15-White team (Tisha Ford photo).
The team ultimately lost in the final match against 900sqft 15-Lance. Hauschild added that he saw great serving from Alexa Nestlerode, Emma Craine and Annika Bastanchury, as well as solid play from outside hitters Danae Theiler and Izzy Sagely.
The 15-White team also had a great day of volleyball, placing second overall in Division III and advancing back up to Division II.
Starting off with a win over Sunshine 15-Elite 25-16, 18-25, 15-12, the girls went on to beat Bakersfield Jamba 15-Lauren 25-17, 25-17 and SMBC 15-Danny 25-12, 25-14. In the playoff match to advance the team up a division, they whomped Solana Beach 15-D&S 25-12, 25-14.
In the one-game semifinal, they lost a thrilling battle, 29-27, to Sports Shack 15-1.
“The outstanding play of both Lauren Underwood and Hannah Raphael both offensively and defensively were paramount additions throughout the day,” coach John Sener pointed out.
The 15-Red team took second place for the day. In the first match, the team beat Rancho Valley 15-Shakey 25-11, 25-19, and then lost a close match with Legacy 15-2, splitting the first two sets 15-25, 25-19, and unfortunately lost the tiebreaker set 10-15. The team then defeated the first seed in their pool, Club Pacific 15-Smack, 25-21, 25-22.
“It was a great match and we really came together as a team,” coach Mickey Caughey said. “Setter Kristen Sharpe had a great day with serving aces and digs, and led in assists, while our middle blockers, Stamatia Scarvelis and Hailey Hall, contributed many blocks for points and digs in the back row. All of the players played extremely well all day and each one contributed to our second place finish.”
The team will remain in Division VI.
In San Diego, in Division I, the 14-Smack team struggled in tough competition, losing in three sets to both Golden West 14-Asics and Coast 14-Luis, and in two sets to third-seed overall SCVC 14-Roxy, placing fourth in pool. However, instead of hanging their heads in defeat, the team regrouped to win the first playoff match against Sunshine 14-Platinum to keep them from moving back down to Division II.
“As the fourth seed overall, Sunshine suffered an upset in their pool and got third in a point ratio tie-breaker. We knew it would be another tough one, but our team came out on all cylinders and did not let the opponent in the game,” said Coach K.C. Collins.
The team beat Sunshine 25-18, 25-17, “with truly every player contributing to that win”. They then beat Impact 14-Craig in a quick one-game semi-final match, only to meet up again with Golden West in the final round, ultimately losing 25-22 to place 10th overall for the day.
“In the playoff matches late in the day, we saw some focused passing from Bailey Roach, and our middles Melissa Scott, Emma Eccles and Lucie Simmons stepped up their aggressiveness which really helped to balance out our offense,” said Collins.
The team will remain in Division I.
The 14-White team had a similar day in Division II, taking fourth in pool-play but winning the first round of playoffs to also keep them from moving down a division.
“The day could be summed up succinctly by the old phrase, ‘close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,'” said coach Matt Schroeder.
“The team came up short in all three matches of pool play losing many sets closely by just a few points.”
The team lost to Rancho Valley 14-Mark, SMBC 14-Kristen and Long Beach 14-Runbird. It did, however, win the notorious “death match” against Surf City 14-Tyler to remain in Division II.
“Holly ‘Prime Time’ Blair contributed with numerous blocks and deep corner kills, while Chloe ‘the Hammering Hippy’ Richman delivered some clutch hits off the right pin in crunch time,” said Schroeder.
The team lost in the semi-final playoff round to familiar foe Commerce Crush 14-1.
In Division III, Ed Gover’s 13-Smack team had a great day in pool play, finishing first after beating Wave 14-Amber, SoCal Elite 14-American, and SVVC 14-Monty. The team moved on to have an exciting three-set playoff match against Epic 14-1, ultimately losing 15-13 in the third set.
Gover lauded the play of Tatum Vedder as the libero for her excellent defense, Emily Allen for her blocking, and hitters Jackie Starnes, Anika Wilson, and Hanna White for their offense. The team will remain in Division III.
The 14-Red team, missing a couple of players, competed in Division VIII and went 1-2 for the day. The team lost a close battle against High Tide 14-Aimee. They beat Culver 14-Tanner thanks in large part to the serving of Olivia Pickett. The team then lost to Conejo Crush 14-Angela to place third for the day.
“The team played hard all day long. We played well, especially Allegra Davis who stepped it up with some great back row play. Also, Jackie McIntyre served and passed well all day,” said coach Deia Kidd.The team will remain in Division VIII.
The 13-White team took third place in its pool in Division XIII, losing to the number-one and two seeds of its pool, Orange County Volleyball Club 14-White and Legacy 14-2, respectively. In an exciting three set match, the 13-White team beat T-Street 13-Rivi to end the day on a high note. “Erin Linehan led the team to victory with her incredible defense and consistent hitting. Hannah Seabury’s hitting was also a great contributor to the team win,” said Coach Malinda Reese. The team will remain in Division XIII.
