The Santa Barbara Club Volleyball Teams played in their third regular season region tournaments of the SCVA on Saturday in Anaheim.
14-Smack
Due to two teams forfeiting for the day, the teams were reseeded and the 14-Smack team ended up in a 3 team pool and to play matches best of 5 sets. After reffing the first match, the team played 7 straight games back to back. The team lost to Temecula 14-Rochelle in 4 sets, but then went on to beat the #2 seed overall in the region in 3 sets. Placing second in the pool put the team in the top 8 for playoffs. The team met up with their nemesis of the season SCVC 14-Roxy, and unfortunately lost in 3 extremely tough sets 25-16, 29-27, 20-18.
“The team continues to improve and we played some really good volleyball. Mariah Bell continues to lead in kills with her savvy offense, while Hayley Hodson showed steady play both on offense and defense in her new role on the right side. Emma Eccles came alive against SCVC providing multiple blocks and several kills from the middle while Melissa Scott provided some great defense in the back row,” said coach K.C. Collins.
The team placed fifth for the day and remains in Division I.
14-White
From coach Matt Schroeder: Fresh off a respectable sixth place finish at the Jr. National Qualifier and week long spring break, the 14-White was back in action on Saturday for another mandatory. The team has managed to stay in Division 2 throughout the season with every match turning into a war or attrition.
Saturday would be no different. They opened up the day against a highly talented Wave team. The Wave looked more like a tsunami and washed away the Whites with a relentless offense of spikes, tips, dumps and laser serves.
The match against Club Jamba 14s witnessed the emergence of Christina “The Ayatollah of Spike-ola” Tebbe as a serious threat on the outside hammering sets down the line. The team carried their momentum from the second match to beat the Mavericks 13-1, winning the second game 25-23. Another standout was Katie Kim, who delivered more roofs than a construction site.
The first playoff match was Sunshine 14-Platinum who proved to be too much for the 14-White, and the team lost in 2 sets to remain in Division II.
14-Red
The 14-Red finished third in pool by going 1-2 for the day.
“We started off with a 25-21, 25-21 win over Dig-it 14-1, then lost back to back matches against 900sqft VBC 13-Steve and SMBC north-14 Zack. We fought hard and came close but lost to both of them. Olivia Pickett was outstanding with her setting all day. Allegra Davis and Savaan Sagar were solid with their passing and defense keeping us in every match,” stated by Coach Deia Kidd.
13-Smack
“Setter Alexis Rottman played her best tournament along with Jackie Starnes with her strong hitting from the outside,” said Coach Ed Gover.
The team placed second in pool play, beating California Heat 14-Blaze and Coast 14-2 in two games, and barely losing to SMBC 14-Kristen 26-24, 25-14, 15-7. The team then lost in the first round of playoffs and will remain in Division 3.
13-White
The Santa Barbara 13-White team lost all three matches in a rough day on Saturday. The team took Golden West 13-Asics and 951 Elite 14-2 to tight three games in each match. In the final match of the day, the team lost to IEVC Heat 14-1 in two games.
“Despite the losses, Luna Pate played excellent defense throughout the entire day. Jackie McIntyre also stood out with her defense and great offense,” said coach Malinda Reese.
Sunday in Anaheim
18-Smack – No recap sent by coach
The team took third in pool play beating Sports Shack 17-1, and losing to Coast 17-Luis and OCVBC 18-Roxy.
The team won the first round of playoffs beating Club West 18-Elite, and lost in the semi round to SCVC 18-roxy. The team placed eleventh overall for the day.
18-White
The team won all of their matches in pool play beating Excel 17-1, Golden West 17-Asics, SVVC 18-Ki, then went on to win their first playoff against Club West 18-Gold in three sets. They lost in the semi round of playoffs to San Diego in three sets, but the finish for the day moves them up to Division II.
“Malina Keaton hit very well on the right side, banging a couple down the line- picture perfect! Maggi Jo Keffury was consistent, she set the faster offense that we’ve been trying to perfect in practice. The team was able to run combo plays every opportunity. Kelcey Chaffin really stepped up to the plate and played well in the middle. Very excited to be moving up to Division II, we earned it,” happily said by Coach Shalen Williams.
17-Smack
The team came in ranked third in pool and won all of its games beating Beach Cities, Kern River and Top Gun in two sets to finish first and move up to Division 7.
The first match of the day was against the #1 seeded Beach Cities. Santa Barbara came out on fire and ready to play. Caroline Colbert wore the Libero jersey for the team this weekend and set the tone for passing. Colbert’s passing helped Karina Evans and Bianca Castro get highly involved in the offense. Morgan Riegert sparked the team with her outside hitting. Tristan Racich and Laura Masho led in assists.
In the next match against Kern River the team kept their energy and fire. Rachel Szeyller and Morgan Riegert smashed kills from the outside to lead the team. Riegert and Colbert played incredible defense along with the rest of the team.
In the final match of the day against Top Gun the girls maintained their composure. Katie Shea contributed with consistent passing and hitting from the outside. Szeyller and Colbert lit up the defense in the back row and Racich led in assists.
“The girls played like a team this weekend. I am glad to see the girls having fun out there and everyone contributing on the volleyball court,” summarized by Coach Angie Erdmann.
