Once the nerves settled down, the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 14-Smack squad played with confidence in rolling up three victories to win its Gold Bracket at a Southern California Volleyball Association qualifying tournament in Torrance over the weekend.
The 14-Smack defeated OVC Bakersfield 14-1, Beach Cities 13-Gold and Mizuno Long Beach 14-Runbird all in two games.
“We started out pretty shaky with nerves in the first match, letting several big leads just slip away,” Coach K.C. Collins said.
The first match showed swings of momentum with each team making runs of points, until the 14-Smack made a couple of key plays at the end to finish off the games 26-24 and 25-18.
The team found its groove in the next match and swept Beach Cities 25-11, 25-12 and then beat a strong Long Beach team 25-19, 25-16.
“We came out on fire in our third match against Long Beach and played aggressively with confidence and not letting down on any one point,” Collins said. “We kept the opponent out of system with our strong serving, and frustrated them with our defense. Our setter, Lexi Rottman, led the team very effectively in that match, dishing up some great sets to run a strong offense with our hitters.
“Everyone contributed to all the wins for our first round and I was pleased with the level of focus and being able to adjust their game plan when necessary, ” Collins added.
In other club action:
The 14-Blue team, coached by Kim Buktenica, finished seconc for the day in the Gold Bracket going 2-1 in matches.
The team opened up with a two-game loss against Mizuno Long Beach 14-Rockstar, but followed up with back to back wins against Bakersfield 14-Rachel and SCVC 14-Roxy.
“We had a great day and were all very happy to finish second. I am very proud of the work all the girls did this weekend,” coach Buktenica said of her team. “Makayla Moore did a great job setting for us all day long making a lot of smart plays. Paige Mathison played well out of the middle both defensively and offensively, and Sarah Kang was on fire with her serving and did great digging balls out of the back row for us.”
Both teams will have a bye through the second qualifying round.
Ed Gover’s 13-Smack team, also competing in the Gold Bracket, had some tight battles and ultimately finished 0-3 for the day. The team opened with a three-game nail-biter to SVVC 14-Premier, and lost 25-16, 21-25, 10-15. They then lost to Mizuno Long Beach 13-Mizuno, and ended the day with another tight battle loss to New Wave 14-Platinum 15-25, 24-26. The team will play in the second qualifying round and compete to regain their spot in the Gold Bracket.
The 13-Blue team, coached by Malinda Reese, finished third in the Copper Bracket. The team started off strong beating Laguna Beach 13-Stacey, in a quick match (25-6, 25-5).
Said coach Reese, “Madison Niessen led the team with her incredible serving in that match.”
The team then lost to Cal Coast 14-Black and TCA LA 14-Black.
“We fought hard with Lauren Suh’s defense shining in both those matches, although we ended up losing to both of these teams,” commented Reese.
?On Sunday, at Cal State Fullerton:
Dwayne Hauschild’s 17-Smack team had an intense day of competition in the second qualifying round of the 18s Division. The team gained close victories over Conejo Crush 17-Park (25-15 25-23) and Channel Islands 18-Shock (25-21 25-23).
The team then entered into a three-game barn-burner against Wave 18-Mike and won 25-21 26-28 and 17-15 to get first in pool.
“Outstanding performances throughout the day from Allie Eason, Sierra Hoffstatter, and Sarah McKinney,” Hauschild said. “McKinney was responsible for a key tip, a key block to get us advantage, and then a critical heads-up play to keep the ball alive and give us the chance to swing for the match. A terrific team effort; all the girls contributed and accomplished the goal we set out for the day. I am very proud.”
The 18-Blue finished 1-2 in the second qualifying round.
“The team played tough against each opponent, and it could have easily gone 3-0,” explained Coach Jacky Yao. “Katie Shea was injured and Danica Smith stepped up big time as outside hitter, playing great defense and making smart offensive decisions. Arika Johnson did a great job for us up front controlling the block,” Yao continued.
“The highlight of the day was definitely during our last match when we were down 18-22 and the girls fought back to win the game and match. Overall, it was a learning experience, and good things will come from it.”
The 12 Smack squad was immersed in an extremely difficult pool in its final round of qualifying in the Gold Bracket.
Coach Erin Dohm describes the day: “We were seeded fourth and put up a good fight to powerhouse teams Temecula 12-Kat and Mizuno Long Beach 12-Mizuno but couldn’t pull out a win. I was really proud of how the girls finished the day. We played a great match and beat Wave 12-Amber 25-20, 25-20 to finish third in pool play.
“I think the level of difficulty was a good learning experience for the team, and our overall improvement since the last tournament was evident in several different areas.”
The team will start the regular season in Division 3.
