Santa Barbara’s streak of Channel League boys volleyball titles is still alive thanks to a balanced attack and solid all-around play in a crucial match against first-place Dos Pueblos.
The five-time defending champion Dons overcame a slow start and put together steady performance Tuesday night to hand the Chargers their first league loss at J.R. Richards Gym and move into a tie for first with two matches remaining. The set scores were 22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-17.
Both teams are now 5-1 in league play.
“I think we beat them by running a real balanced offense. We were able to get everyone involved,” said Santa Barbara coach Chad Arneson.
Senior Alec Smyth led the Dons with 15 kills. Middles Clifford Anderson and Holden Ploch had 12 and 11 kills, respectively, and Ploch collected six blocks. Nick Clark added seven kills.
You could sense at the end of the first game that Santa Barbara (11-4) was not going to allow DP(16-8) to slide into the driver’s seat for the outright title in its gym without a fight.
After falling behind 18-13, the Dons got some momentum after a block by Ploch in the middle. Kills by Anderson, Smyth and Casey Slaught and a tough serve by Mark Outwater cut the deficit to 23-21. But DP, behind Will McCracken’s six kills, staved off the comeback to take the set.
“They came in inspired in the first game,” DP coach Chris Hughes said about his players. “They came in and played really, really good in the first game and then, I don’t know if it was a letup, but give Santa Barbara credit. They outserved us and outpassed us tonight. That was the difference in the match.”
The second set was tight until Ploch took over in the middle. He pounded a ball for a 14-12 lead and then put up an impressive stuff block for an 18-13 advantage.
“It was just great to see Holden get us going in the middle,” said Arneson. “He is impressive. He is really explosive up there. He’s such a great kid and he’s only a sophomore. He has bright a future. I’m fortunate to have some young kids that are hungry and eager to be winners out there and help out the varsity program.”
The Dons got key contributions from Zach Gones and Nick Clark in building a 19-10 lead in the third game.
“Nick played really, really steady for us and I thought Zach, as a senior, added a lot of leadership. I gave him the opportunity and he rose to the occasion. It was really effective.”
Smyth, the team captain, said the Dons were a completely different team than the one that lost in three sets at Dos Pueblos during the first round of league play.
“We really wanted to turn it around,” he said. “We were all playing as individuals out there (in the first meeting). It was obvious not one of us had all the kills in this match. It was a spread offense. Everyone came through and everyone played really well. That’s what we really wanted. That’s how we knew we were going to beat them, not by one person but by everyone playing well.”
Smyth said the win was especially important for the seniors, who have always been on a Channel League championship team.
“All of the seniors really needed this, to win league every year. We still have two more league matches, but it’s a great win for us.”
The Dons kept the pressure on in the fourth game, opening up a 5-0 lead.
DP, however, showed it still had some fire in its belly and fought back to pull within 12-11 on a McCracken kill off the block. But the Chargers fell back into a funk and made three hitting errors to fall behind 15-12.
“They didn’t have that fire and we took advantage of that and we jumped on them,” said Arneson.
“We will come back stronger,” Hughes said. “We learned a lot tonight, we learned how to compete. I had a couple of injuries I have to deal with, but that’s not an excuse. We’ll get a little healthier and get fresher legs and compete against Buena on Thursday and San Marcos next Tuesday.”
McCracken and Jay Larinan each posted 13 kills to lead DP. Kyle Hoffman had four blocks.
Arneson said the win was one of the biggest of his coaching career because it showed how far his team had come from the first meeting with DP.
“We cut down on the errors and we played really loose out there. I’m proud, but we have to realize it’s not over and there’s always room for improvement. We have a chance to be co-Channel League champs,” he said.
