Sarah McKinny of the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club's 17-Smack team goes up for a spike during a tournament match. (Photo by David Hofstatter).
Two teams from the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club moved up in divisions after their performances at Southern California Volleyball Association tournaments over the weekend.
The club’s 17-Smack elevated to Division 3 by winning the Division 4 competition in Anaheim on Saturday.
On Sunday, the 16-Smack won a Division 3 tournament to earn a promotion to Division 2 for the next event.
The 16-Smack suffered only one game loss in 11 sets played at El Camino College. In pool play, the team beat Cal Heat 16-Soleil 25-21, 25-14, Coast 16-2 Tina 25-18, 25-22 and Orange County 16-White 24-26, 26-24, 15-9.
To move up to Division 2, the team needed to win the first round of playoffs against NOTW 16s.
“The deciding match to advance was a see-saw battle,” remarked coach Greg Novak. “After we captured the victory on the first set 25-18, our middle Savannah Tartler offered an inspiring motivational speech to push the team to claim the second set 25-21. The ‘Division 3 monkey’ was off our back and the team celebration commenced.”
In the one-game semifinal and final matches, the team beat SCVC 16-Roxy 25-18 and SMBC 16-Trevor, who both had strong offensive weapons.
Charlotte Garratt tips the ball over a blocker for the SBVC 16-Smack team. (Photo by Jourdi Dewerd).
“It was fun to watch our team hold steady, dig up their opponents’ firepower and come right back at them to unleash or own weapons,” Novak said.
“A lot of the success of the day can be contributed to the aggressive serving and a .315 team hitting percentage,” he continued. “Izzy Sagely and Colleen O’Conner made great strides on their hitting percentage on the outside, and Charlotte Garrett continues to improve and show her blocking skills in the middle.”??The 17-Smack had a non-stop run of wins for the day winning Division 4, and achieved the goal they had set out for themselves to move up to Division 3.
In pool play, the team was victorious over Protégé 17-Elite, Reef 18-Joe, and SVVC 17-Brian. The team then claimed a stunning defeat over San Gabriel 17-Roshambo in playoffs.
“We were down 4-14 in game one, but the girls fought back with a 21-2 run to win 25-16,” said coach Dwayne Hauschild. “We continued with the hot run and won game two 25-15.”
Dealing with some injuries and illnesses, the team had a modified line up with players in positions they had not played all season. According to Hauschild, “The girls really responded. Allie Eason did great at opposite and Sarah McKinney had a productive day in the middle for us as well.”
The team capped off its day with a one-game final win over TCA 17-Black 25-21, and will move up to Division 3.
“As a team, I felt it was our best over-all group performance since the MLK tournament earlier this season,” said Hauschild.
In other club action:
The 18-Smack won its pool in Division 2 by beating Club West 17-National and Legacy 18-1. The team entered into a battle against Orange County 18-Roxy in the first round of playoffs, with the winner advancing into Division 1.
The 18-Smack rallied tough, splitting the first two games and then suffering a loss in the final moments of the deciding third game, 16-14.
“Although we weren’t able to move back to Division I, this was one of our best tournaments of the year,” said coach Jason Donnelly. “We competed throughout the day and had every opportunity to win our crossover match against Orange County.??”Taylor Racich was fantastic both offensively, and from the service line. Her serving was spot on all day, and she really had all of our opponents back on their heels,” he added.??”Nicki Brown played her best match of the year against Club West. She was attacking the ball with a purpose, and her hitting percentage was the highest it’s been all year. When she plays like that we are a very good team.”
The 18-Blue team, down several players due injuries, suffered three very close losses in pool play of Division 5.
“Despite losing, I couldn’t have been more proud of the girls that were there,” coach Jacky Yao said. “Due to injuries, we were down to having only 6 players, and a couple of the girls played out of their normal positions.”
Sammi Rhine of the 16-Smack goes up for a kill. (Photo by Jourdi Dewerd)
The team lost to Impact 17-Bryan (18-25, 25-22, 8-15), Rancho Valley 18-Select (23-25, 22-25), and SMBC 18-Turhan (23-25, 23-25).
“All six girls competed tough all day and never gave up at any point,” said Yao. “The girls are all making improvements. I think the highlight was that at the end of the day, coaches and parents from other teams all took turns commending the team for their resilient effort.”
Also competing with a skeleton crew, the 12-Smack team had a rough time catching a break on Saturday in Torrance. The team placed fourth in pool after losing two three-game matches.
“With only eight players able to be there, it was tough,” coach Erin Dohn said. “The girls fought and had some great plays, but struggled with serve receive passing.”
The team beat Sunshine 12-South Bay (25-18-25-16), but lost to Bakersfield 12-Ashley (25-8, 21-25, 13-15) and Wave 11-Tammy (25-19, 17-25, 7-15). The 1-2 finish for the day caused a two-way tie for third, but a head-to-head tiebreaker put the team in fourth for the day and the team will compete in Division 4 for its next tournament.
The 16-Blue team had a good day of learning and experience, where the girls played with confidence and really learned how to take care of the ball, said coach Lauren Rinderknecht.
The team opened up with a loss to T Street 16-Kristen, but regrouped and beat Beach Cities 16-Red and Kern River 16-Gold to claim second for the day and remain in Division 5.
Coach Rinderknecht highlighted the consistent play and defense of Marley Miller, and pointed out the service of Marina Boulanger, who served nine points straight against Kern River, putting the team in the lead 20-11 and ultimately winning the last match of the day.
