The Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 13-Smack, 14-Smack and 14-Blue teams will be heading to Anaheim this weekend to compete in the USA Volleyball Junior National Qualifier.
The club’s 15-Smack team overcame a change of venue and a scheduling snafu to win its pool and reach the playoffs at a Southern California Volleyball Association tournament last weekend in Anaheim.
After spending the morning at Downtown Disney, the Disney magic followed the team to the American Sports Center, where it went 3-0 in Division 2 pool play. They beat Rincon 15-1, 951 Elite 15-1, and Non-Stop 15-1s.
“The girls had to endure a long day in Anaheim even before they stepped on the court at 3 p.m to play their very first match,” coach Jake Hong said. “They were able to come out and play with energy and fire.”
The team ended the long day with a one-game playoff against Bakersfield Jamba 15-Jessica and lost 21-25, 16-25.
“Emma Eccles played a brand-new position for the team and stepped in with flying colors,” Hong said. “She made some key kills and blocks in the opposite position throughout the day. Overall, Christy (Maguire, assistant) and I were very happy with the way we came together as a team no matter what the result of the match was.”
The team will remain in Division 2 for the next tournament.
The 15-Blue team, competing in Division 4, finished in a three-way tie for second and, based on point differential, claimed third place in its pool.
The team started out with a thrilling three-game win over Nevada Juniors, then dropped the next two matches with two highly charged three-game matches.
“We win every first game then have to fight like junkyard dogs to finish out the sets. Lots of lessons to be learned out there,” coach John Sener said.
Entering the “death match” playoff, the team lost another three-set thriller against Formula 1 15-Sarah 25-19, 23-25, 13-15 to drop to division 5.
“Lucie Simmons returned to the line-up after an injury and played well for us, and the courageous setting of Andie O’Donnell kept us in every match till the end,” Sener remarked.
The 12-Smack team opened up their day by beating Seal Beach 12-Stacy, but dropped the next two matches to T-Street 12-Mitz and Commerce Crush 12-1 to finish third overall for the day in Division 3, where they will remain for the next tournament.
“Delaney Werner made a great defensive play in the last game that got the whole team fired up,” coach Erin Dohm said. “We are looking forward to seeing more of that in our next tournament.”
On Sunday, the 13-Blue team won its pool, going 3-0 in Division 13.
The team beat Oceans Elite 13s and Flintridge 14-M in two games each to start its morning.
“Our last game was the best game of the day,” exclaimed coach Kailee Blair. “We played the first seed in our pool, Sports Shack, and it was a three gamer. The girls worked hard and really wanted the win.”
The team beat Sports Shack 14-TA 26-24, 16-25, 15-7.
“Peyton Shelburne was consistent throughout the day with her serving, passing, and hitting, while Natasha Feshbach did a great job at the net, with three blocks and consistent hitting,” said Blair.
The 14-Smack grinded out a fifth-place finish for the day in Division 1, going 3 sets to win the first two matches to secure the top 8.
“We had a tough morning,” coach K.C. Collins said. “We didn’t play so hot against the third seed in our pool but managed to take the win, and the fourth seed in our pool surprised us with very good play. They were not dynamic offensively but they dug just about every ball we put over the net, and it rattled our hitters. In the end, we won the match in the third set with some groveling defense by Lexi Rottman and a couple unforced errors by the opponent for game point.”
The team beat Newport Lightening 14-1 24-26, 25-20, 15-4 and SMBC 14-Steven 20-25, 25-23, 15-13. The team lost the last pool match to Mizuno LB 14-Rockstar 17-25, 20-25, then met up with Coast 14-Luis in playoffs and lost 12-25, 21-25.
“We did what we needed to do by staying in the top 8, so we are very happy with the result. We just did not play as well as we wanted but we learned a lot about the things we need to work on if we want to continue to keep ourselves there,” said Collins. “It has given us a renewed resolve to work harder in practice.”
The team will remain in Division 1 for the next tournament.
The 13-Smack placed third for the day in Division 7. With two losses to SMBC 14-Jeff and DSVC 13s, the 13-Smack finished the day in dramatic fashion with a thrilling three-set victory over Pali 14-Kaepa 16-14 in the third.
The team was down 13-14 in the last set.
“Emily Lafitte served an unbelievable ace to tie the game,” coach Ed Gover said. “Chloe Allen and Kristina Garcia stuffed block the Pali hitter for the match.”
Gover praised the setting by Phoebe Madsen and Allie Sundara, while Lourda Weger had one of her best days as the outside hitter.
The team will remain in Division 7 for the next tournament.
The 14-Blue team, competing in Division 4, finished third in pool play, sending the team to the “death match” in playoffs.
The team lost to TCA 14-Black and Oaks 14-1, and beat Surfside 13-1.
“Overall, it took us a little while to warmed up and get going but in the end the girls played really well,” said coach Kim Buktenica.
The team then lost a tight playoff match to Rancho Valley 14-Select 26-28, 22-25.
“Unfortunately, we were not able to win our playoff match and we move to Division 5. But overall we played well, and Avery Jones did an amazing job setting for us this weekend. She played very smart and her sets were on fire. Also, McKenna Madden did a great job defensively and serving for us,” said Buktenica.
