In its first crosstown girls volleyball match of the season, a confident and relaxed Santa Barbara took care of business and swept San Marcos on Tuesday night at the Thunderhut.
Led by the powerful hitting of senior Dani Rottman, the Dons won 25-16, 25-15, 25-21 to improve to 2-0 in league and 9-4 overall.
Santa Barbara's Holland Crenshaw pounds the ball past a San Marcos blocker during Channel League match at the Thunderhut.
Rottman gave the San Marcos back row a workout with several hard-hit balls. She finished with 16 kills and a hitting percentage of .389.
When Rottman wasn’t doing the damage, the Dons spread the attack to Frankie Lewis, Remi Pulice and Holland Crenshaw. They each had five kills.
Santa Barbara also was tough from the service line, committing only seven errors. Michaela Ford had a good night with 17 serves in play.
“I just felt like we clicked and really got things going,” Santa Barbara coach John Gannon said. “We really served well and passed well. Our passing wasn’t sharp at the start, but once we got locked in we got the hitters that can put the ball away, and are pretty experienced. It was good match for us.”
San Marcos (2-11, 0-3) kept the first game close with some scrappy defense and hitting from junior Kristen Berlo.
Then Rottman took over.
The senior outside hitter converted a dig by Emma Mascari into a kill to put the Dons up 14-9. Later, after being stuffed by Berlo, Rottman responded with a kill and a solo block to put them ahead 18-11.
“She’s playing great volleyball right now,” Gannon said. “People in this town know there’s a lot of good players, but Dani is really showing what she’s got. Now that she’s a senior, it’s great to see her taking a leadership role for us. She passes a lot of the court for us and she attacks the ball really well. It’s what you want from a senior.”
Rottman stopped a San Marcos run of points early in the second game with a kill from the back row. Santa Barbara regained the momentum and outscored the Royals 8-2 to open up a 20-10 advantage.
In the third game, she broke a 14-14 tie with back-to-back kills, putting the Dons in the lead for good.
Despite losing in three, San Marcos played hard and put together some point-producing plays. In the second game, Berlo got a perfect set in the middle and crushed the ball straight down. She followed that up by blocking a Santa Barbara overpass for a point.
Berlo led the Royals’ attack with 10 kills and three blocks.
“She brings that intensity on the court,” San Marcos coach Erica Menzel said of the 6-foot middle, who played on a state championship club volleyball team in Florida a couple of years ago before coming to San Marcos. “Unfortunately, we’re not passing enough to set her enough.”
Berlo’s strong play kept the third game close. She delivered three straight kills to give San Marcos an 11-9 lead.
She’s an emotional leader for us. She has the experience a lot of the younger players don’t, so we’re hoping she can teach that,” said Menzel.
Rottman stepped up with back-to-back kills for the Dons, giving them the lead for good.
Crenshaw scored the last two points on a block and kill.
San Marcos picked up 43 digs in the match, led by libero Jordan Corry with 10.
Menzel said the big difference on her team in the crosstown matches is its lack of experience.
“Every time we play we’re learning something,” she said. “I had two girls starting who had never played in this kind of atmosphere against really good players. It goes back to experience. We’re playing a team that has a lot of experience.”
She expects her team to be better in the second round of league play.
