The Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 12-Smack Team went 2-1 to place second in Division 5 last Saturday at another week of SCVA action. The team lost to SMBC North 12-Nate (23-25, 19-25) before beating T-Street 12-Lasuen (25-19, 25-12) and Seal Beach Jackie (25-20, 25-21).
“Peyton Shelbourne and Ally Hodosy were stars in serving with several aces each!” said coach Cary Whittaker.
15-Smack, competing in Division I, lost very close matches in pool play losing to Sunshine 15-Southbay, Mizuno LB 15-Rockstar, and Club West 15-Elite — all in three sets. Moving into playoff rounds, the team had another tight battle with San Gabriel Elite, losing 12-15 in the third game. The loss moves them to Division 2.
“While it may not have shown it in the final standings, the girls played more cohesively, and made huge strides in their development,” coach Dwayne Hauschild remarked. “The team had one of their best overall tourney performances, playing some of the top teams in the 15’s division. Great serving performances from Emma Craine and Alexa Nestlerode and some outstanding defensive and offensive work from both Izzy Sagely and Katherine Crook.”
The 15-White Team managed to keep itself in Division 2 by winning the aptly named “death match.”
In pool play, the team placed 4th by losing to Coast 15-Jackie, 951 Elite 15-1, and Ohana 15-1. However, they went on to beat T Street 15s 25-22 and 26-24 in the first playoff round to maintain their division 2 ranking. The team then finished off the day winning the next two playoff games, beating New Wave 25-21 and Saddleback 25-19.
“The outstanding play from libero Mia Cattaneo, hitting from Colleen O’Conner, and defense from Emily Lunt, along with the steady setting from Madelon Leiphardt making key plays through out the day, contributed to the overall success for the day,” said coach John Sener.
The 15-Red Team had its second sweep of the season.
“Were we excited? You bet!” exclaimed coach Mickey Caughey. “Coach Leigh Stephenson and myself were very proud of our team.”
The team beat San Diego VBC15, Mizuno LB 15-Wave and Smack 15-Black to go 3-0 and place first for the day.
“Our biggest weapon once again was our great serving. Everyone got their share of aces on the day, but Kierstin Brown recorded five of her nine aces in the last match alone. Marina Boulanger had a great all around game playing very steady all day,” said Caughey. “Stamatia Scarvelis went out with a sprained ankle in the first game, but thanks to the athletic trainer at the site she was able to come back and play like nothing had happened in the last two matches.
“Karly Lawrence and Grace Halleck on defense never let the opposing teams get anything going on their offense. Kristen Sharpe, had a great day setting and recorded 25 assists. Hayley Hodson was on fire at the net, recording a blistering .388 hitting percentage on the day. All in all it was a fun day of volleyball.”
On Sunday, the 16-Smack team also survived the dreaded death match and was able to hold on to its Division 1 ranking. The team placed 3rd in pool play, losing to Bkfd Club Jamba 16-Parker in two, Wave 15-KJ Spalding in a tight 3-set match, and beating TCA OC 16-Black. They took care of business winning the first playoff match against Impact keeping them in Division 1. The team then moved on to beat Temecula in the semi-final match, and ultimately lost to Saddleback Valley to place 10th overall for the day.
“It was a long day in Anaheim,” said coach Greg Novak. “Plagued with injuries and illnesses, the team had to step up and fill the gaps where needed. Holland Crenshaw became a versatile player by demonstrating her back row talents while our other middle, Ciena Colburn played steady throughout the day. Sarah McKinney and Jaimie Maynor showed their setting and blocking talents on the right side while Nicki Brown stepped in just about every position to steady the team when needed.
Amanda Moriarty and Dani Rottman held a hitting clinic on the outside while Sierra Hofstatter passed perfect passes to setter, Amanda Harvey, who did great job dishing up nectar sets all day. Cheering on the team from the sidelines were the injured, Lina Kleinschmidt and Hannah Porter, both of whom were mentally exhausted by the end of the day.”
