Finishing in 5th place of the Silver Division, the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 13-Smack team ended their regular season on a high note at the Regionals tournament in Artesia last weekend.
On day one, the team had a slow start in the first match of the morning pool play. Down in the first set 23-11 against the California Heat 14s, Dane Miller rolled off 12 straight jump serves and Emily Allen tallied 4 blocks to tie the set at 23-23. Then after getting the ball back, Andie DeWerd served three straight aces to win the game 26-24. The team went on to win the match and the two subsequent matches against SVVC 14-Monty and Nevada Jrs 14-1 to finish first place on the day.
Emily Allen
Coming back on day two, the 13-Smack finished in second place with a 2-1 pool play record. The team then lost in the first round of the playoffs to Sunshine 13-South Bay. Coach Ed Gover felt that Alexis Rottman, Tatum Vedder, Annika Wilson, Hillary Bean and Paige Mascari all had a great performances throughout the tournament. Gover added that Caroline Anderson got her first two stuff blocks of the season and Hannah White did an excellent job filling in for an injured Jackie Starnes. The team will now set its sights on competing at the Volleyball Festival at the end of this month.
Competing in the Gold division, the Regionals tournament was a rough one for the 14-Smack team. There were some tight battles that could have gone either way, and while the losses outnumbered the wins, each player made some standout performances over the course of the tournament.
“Our middle hitters have really come along and were much more dominant on offense. In between some great blocks, Emma Eccles put away some quick sets, while Melissa Scott was working the slide attack. Lucie Simmons really stood out on offense, connecting with our setter and putting away some solid quick attacks,” remarked coach K.C. Collins.
Missing the teams’ other setter, Teah Burdick, Sarah Scarminach was the solo setter the entire weekend and did a great job hustling after errant passes, making some very athletic sets and distributing the ball to the hitters. Also missing Sydney Riegert, three hitters shared the outside positions with no break.
“Mariah Bell, Hayley Hodson and Tessa Dewell all took turns shining in matches, with Dewell putting away the hard angle shot, Hodson sometimes just absolutely crushing balls down the line, and Bell hammering hits and throwing in tips to keep the opponent guessing,” continued Collins. “Bailey Roach had some of her best serve receive passing in many of the matches, while Kayla Klopstein tallied up many digs in the back row.”
Despite some aggressive three set matches, the team only managed to win one match in pool play each day, putting itself in the lower playoff bracket of the Gold division. The team was then pitted against its own Club’s 14-White team in the quarter final round and lost in two sets.
“Unfortunately, the inconsistency of our play all weekend plagued us til the end. But while the weekend brought disappoint to the team, it also brought a strong resolve and commitment to work harder in the practice gym toward a stronger showing at our final tournament later this month,” said Collins,
The 14-White team had an equally tough time of it in the Gold division, but came out with a silver lining.
“No amount of hyperbole would be able to describe the highs and lows of the last regional tournament for the 14 white,” said coach Matt Schroeder. “Coming off two weeks of less-than-mediocre practice sessions and battling numerous injuries, the team appeared to look as if all hope was lost.”
The 14-White team dropped all three matches in pool play on Saturday, and Sunday started off with an egregious loss to the coaching legend Gene Selznick and his aptly named group of players, “Gene’s Team,” then splitting the next two matches to finish with a 1-2 record.
“As the philosopher Dolly Parton once said, ‘The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you’ve got to put up with the rain,’” Schroeder quoted. “And it seemed the 14-White was stuck in a flood. However, amidst the uninspired level of play emerged Andie ‘Miss Automatic’ O’Donnell, who led the team with her indomitable attitude and quiet confidence.”
The squad bounced back the in the lower bracket playoffs. Finishing out pool play with another 4th place finish, fate would pair the 14-White against their local comrades 14-Smack in the first round.
“In what could have been the last match of the regular season, the team collectively managed to play the best match of their young lives to better the 14-Smack team and advance to the semifinals and seeing the proverbial rainbow after the storm. The middle play of Grace ‘The Hope Ranch Hammer’ Woolf and Katie “The Sultan of Serve” Kim provided more blocks than a kindergarten. The setting duo of Clara ‘Manos de Oro’ Madsen and Brenna ‘The Inspiring Tiger’ Geiger brought their metaphorical backpacks and carried the team throughout the match and throughout the season. Anastasia ‘Skywalker’ Kunz patrolled the net with stuff blocks and a vertical jump reminiscent of Michael Jordan. Holly ‘Primetime’ Blair was the x-factor, bringing her game and energy to levels never before seen, galvanizing everyone around her. Her partner in crime, Chloe ‘The Hammering Hippy’ Richman contributed countless energy efficient spikes comparable to the efficiency of eco-friendly laundry detergent. Evanne ‘The Secretary of Defense’ Jimenez was rock solid at the libero position, supplying seemingly impossible digs and near perfect ball control. And finally, Cydney ‘The Wizard’ Pierce played the last two months with an injured back as crooked as a politician, managing to not only play but also contribute significantly. Christina ‘The Ayatollah of Spikola’ Tebbe could not be with the team over the past weekend due to a school trip, but her tennis style defense and Roger Federer-esque serves were sorely missed.”
The 14-White and 14-Smack teams also head off to the 5-day Volleyball Festival at the end of the month for their final competition of the season.
The 14-Red and the 13-White teams finished up their club seasons with the Regionals tournament
According to Coach Deia Kidd-Kadlubek, “Dakota Niessen and Savaan Sagar played superb. Dakota lead the team with steady determination putting up great sets. Sagar’s passing and digging kept us in rallies that we thought were over.”
The team placed 4th in pool play on day one and 3rd on day two, heading into playoffs of the Flight 1 lower bracket.
“Our outside hitters Maddy Frohling and Allegra Davis were key to our success, both doing more than expected with great passing and hitting. They played fabulously,“ continued Kidd-Kadlubek. “Olivia Pickett and Amy Cregan both had strings of serving points that helped us win games, and Cregan had the best kills of the day. Also, middles Hayley Hamer and Julia McClintock had incredible net play, with some game saving blocks and kills. Hamer’s big top spin serve and McClintock’s hard float serve gave us many easy points.”
The team won the first two rounds of playoff matches, but lost in the final match to Club West 22-25.
“The team put all their effort into the tournament. It was wonderful to see these athletes work so hard and finish the season strong.” Kidd-Kadlubek said.
Malinda Reese’s 13-White team lost to Legacy 14-2 and Starlings Heights Hts 14-2 and ended the day beating California Blue 14-Blue to finish third in the pool.
Coach Reese commented that “Hannah Craig’s overall control shined all day on Saturday. Likewise, Hannah Seabury led the team offensively with some incredible kills.” On Sunday, the team lost to Epic 14-Roxane and Laguna Bch 14-Gaido and defeated Bridge 14-Black.
“Luna Pate’s aggressive serves made it difficult for Bridge to get a pass,” said Reese.
There was a 3-way tie that ended up with the 13-White placing second in pool. In the upper bracket of playoffs, the team lost in the first round to Excel 14-2 in a very exciting match “that showed how much all of the girls have improved this season.” Reese said that Erin Linehan’s offensive abilities led the team on Sunday, and all weekend, Sarah Kang’s serving continued to be one of the team’s strongest assets.
“Sumner Matthew’s defense, along with Jackie McIntyre’s serve receive made some of the longest rallies I’ve seen keep going on Sunday. Emily Stevens hard work from the season showed in her jump serving and great defense, while Mikayla Werner made some unbelievable defensive plays.” recapped Reese.
