Santa Barbara High’s girls volleyball team succumbed to second-seeded Long Beach Poly on Thursday, falling out of CIF contention in Division I-AA after a 25-15, 27-25, 25-11 decision.
The Dons almost pulled out a win in the second set, but momentum stalled after Santa Barbara won 5 of 6 points to draw even at 23-23.
“We really needed to get that game to make a match of it,” explained Dons head coach John Gannon, whose team finishes its season with a 21-10 record.
“They come at you from a bunch of different angles,” was how Gannon described No. 2 Poly. “I didn’t see any weaknesses that they had.”
It was the final match for Dons seniors Eve Ettinger, Lauren Capritto and Katy Villanueva.
“I’m super proud of the girls,” Gannon said, highlighting a season filled with big wins over top teams like Archbishop Mitty, Cathedral Catholic, Newport Harbor, Redondo Union and Santa Margarita.
Future USC Trojan Ettinger finished off her Dons career as the Dons kill leader in another match, this time with 11. Ettinger collected nine digs as well.
Capritto piled up 17 digs and Kira Schleich also reached double figures with 10. Emma Moscari tallied seven digs and an ace.
