THE NEXT LEVEL: Rottman wows them in the ACC

Emily Rottman starts college career with a bang. Photo courtesy of Virginia.com

It hasn’t taken long for Emily Rottman to make an impact in Division 1 women’s volleyball.

The former Santa Barbara High star started her collegiate career with a bang for the University of Virginia. Rottman had 28 digs in her debut match and 53 in three weekend matches to lead the Cavaliers to wins over Valparaiso, Delaware and Temple.

Her eye-popping performance, which included 26 kills, earned her Freshman of the Week honors in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Rottman wasn’t the only former prep volleyball standout to have a brilliant college debut.
Freshman Sammie Brown from Dos Pueblos dished out 51 assists and had 10 digs in her first match for Notre Dame, a four-set win over Marshall.

In that same match, junior Kristen Dealy of Santa Barbara High, notched the 22nd double-double of her career with 15 kills and 17 digs. She also had three aces and three blocks.

Former Dos Pueblos teammates Carly Wopat and Caitlin Racich were across the net from each when Stanford faced Pepperdine.

Wopat, a freshman, had 13 kills and hit .600 for the Cardinal in its four-set victory. Racich, a sophomore, struggled in the match in for the Waves.

Another former Charger, setter Paige Craine, saw action for Loyola Marymount in a win over Bucknell and had seven assists.

LOPEZ DELIVERS: On the soccer field, former Santa Barbara star Briana Lopez scored the game-winning goal against Navy in what’s being called the biggest win in the history of South Carolina State.

Lopez broke a 1-1 tie with a goal in the 86th minute.

CARDINAL REUNION: Former Bishop Diego standout teammates Scott Winnewisser and Kevin Duley will be on the same field on Saturday when Cal Poly hosts Humboldt State in a season-opening football game.

Winnewiser is an all-conference starting tackle for Cal Poly while Duley is a starting outside linebacker for the Lumberjacks of Arcata.

The players were on the 2006 Cardinal team that reached the CIF semifinals.

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