Drawing energy from a boisterous rooting section, the CIF 1-AA Division second-ranked Dos Pueblos girls volleyball team jumped on rival Santa Barbara early and took the Dons out of the match for a 25-12, 25-15, 32-30 Channel League sweep at Sovine Gym on Tuesday.
Taylor Racich of Dos Pueblos dinks the ball over Santa Barbara blockers Dani Rottman (8) and Remi Pulice during the Chargers' sweep at Sovine Gym. (Vince Agapito photo)
The Chargers (11-1, 3-0) didn’t let Santa Barbara get into an offensive rhythm at the start and they had the Dons reeling under the heavy hitting from Taylor Racich, Sierra Hofstetter, Amanda Moriarty and Sarah McKinny. Racich led the way with 21 kills on a torrid hitting percentage of .613.
Hofstetter gave Santa Barbara fits at the service line with six aces.
“We just started out serving really strong and got a good lead, and we were really pumped up,” DP setter Tristan Racich said. “The girls all came together and built off the energy and it was really good.”
“We came out ready to play and we like to attack,” DP coach Todd Garrett said. “And our serve was on fire. We were just bombing balls on the serve tonight.”
Santa Barbara’s struggles in passing DP’s serves brought down its usually potent attack. Dani Rottman, the Dons’ leading hitter on the season, was held to seven kills. The Chargers made it a frustrating night for her. The times she was able to hit a ball past the DP block, libero Katie Spieler was usually there to scoop it up.
“It was super fun, the whole energy of the crowd and the team was really good,” said Spieler, who finished with 15 digs.
Her defensive prowess provided an added boost for the Chargers.
“It just makes you want to get back and get that kill,” Taylor Racich said of the inspiration she gets when Spieler throws her body to the floor to keep a ball alive. “She’s putting in all her effort and I’m putting in all my effort to put the ball down.”
Said Garrett: “Katie is so talented. The girl is a competitor, wants to play and is talented. It’s a blessing as a coach.”
Hofstetter was another standout performer for the Chargers. Along with her scoring from the service line, she was solid at the net and played good defense.
“That girl has stepped up huge,” Garrett said. “She’s not that tall, but she’s playing out of her mind, she’s playing big. She has been a wonderful surprise for us this season.”
Dos Pueblos setter Tristan Racich dishes to one of her hitters.
Santa Barbara coach John Gannon noted the leadership DP gets from its seniors like Hofstetter, the Racich sisters and Spieler made a huge difference in the match.
“You can see with their senior leadership, the way they play, the experience they carry on the floor, they play with a lot of confidence,” he said. “We didn’t do anything to disrupt their confidence in the first set.”
Santa Barbara, spurred by its shirtless, body-painted, male student fan group, the Scream Team, opened up a 4-1 lead to start the second set, but DP went on a six-point run to take a 15-9 advantage and never trailed again.
The third set went back and forth. Santa Barbara was serving at game point at 29-28, but the serve to the back line was called out. The score was knotted at 30 when Taylor Racich putaway back-to-back sets from her sister to end the match.
Middle Holland Crenshaw was Santa Barbara’s top hitter on the night with 11 kills, most of them coming in the wild third set. Michaela Ford came off the bench and provided the Dons with some steady passing in the third set.
But this match belonged to the Chargers.
DP’s sterling play on defense limited Santa Barbara (8-5, 2-1) to a .185 hitting percentage.
Spieler, Taylor and Tristan Racich said the energy leading up to the match was building all day at school.
“I don’t know what was going on. It was almost like when Katy Perry came. It was so huge, everybody was talking about it,” said Spieler.
“I have to give it to our fans, they’re so fun,” said Taylor Racich, referring to a group of shirtless guys with their torsos painted blue known as the Blue Men. “They all have our numbers painted on them.”
Said Tristan Racich: “Our crowd was awesome tonight. That was a big part of it.”
