The Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 14-Smack team went undefeated in their Southern California Volleyball Association tournament on Sunday and was elevated to Division 2.
Playing at Cal State Fullerton, the 14-Smack beat Long Beach 13-Mizuno, LAVA-North 14-Ray and Sunshine 13-South Bay in pool play, and swept LAVA-South 14-Casey 25-11 and 25-14 in the playoff round.
“The entire team was on a mission to do well and outplay their opponent,” said coach Greg Novak. “Tough serving by Peyton Shelburne, Emily Lafitte and Taylor Nation, made it possible to run our offense throughout the day. The team has gotten to the point where they are comfortable running plays, which is fun to watch.”
In other club action:
The 16-Smack, competing in Division 1, found themselves in a three-team and played best-of-five matches. The team opened up with a heatbreaking five-game loss to Club Troy 16-Tim (21-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 10-15,) then finished the morning with a three-game loss to San Gabriel Elite 16-Roshambo (22-25, 25-27, 22-25).
Heading into the “death match” (the deciding match for staying in Division 1 or moving to division 2), the team was defeated by Mavericks 16-Black and will ultimately move to Division 2 for the next tournament.
“Even though we had a tough weekend in the win column, we were able to play well as a team in the morning against great competition,” coach K.C. Collins said. “Both Andie O’Donnell and Sarah Scarminach did a great job of running our offense as our setters.”
In Artesia, the 16-Blue team finished 1-2 in pool play. The team opened with a loss to California Heat 16s (18-25, 19-25), but came back to win a 3-game thriller against Mission Viejo 16s (22-25, 25-16, 15-8). The team then lost in another tight 3-gamer to Commerce Crush 16s (25-23, 28-30, 9-15).
Entering the “death match” playoff, the team had yet another 3-game match and lost 15-25, 25-14, 11-15 and will move to Division 4.
“Channing Fisher had a career game against Commerce Crush,” said coach Dillan Bennett. “She had at least 10 kills in the three-game match hitting against a 6-1 middle blocker the whole match. And, Clare Holehouse did a great job setting this weekend. She continues to improve and lead her team to success on the court.”
The 14-Blue and 13-Smack teams held on to their spots in Division 8 by placing second and third, respectively, in pool play.
The 14-Blue finished 2-1 for the day, beating San Gabriel Elite 14-Premiere and Starlings 14-Black and losing to Bakersfield 13-Emily.
At El Camino, 13-Smack team also finished 2-1 for the day, and due to a three-way point ratio tie breaker, took third. The team started the day with a loss to Club Troy 14-Leslie but bounced back to beat Rincon 14-Elite (25-12, 25-17) and OVC Bakersfield 14-1 (25-9, 16-25, 16-14).
Coach Ed Gover pointed out the great setting by Gabi Peoples and Liana Tacconelli. “Addison Coburn was excellent from the service line, while both Brynna Hodosy and Kobie Jimenez were very steady in the passing and serving department all day. And Delaney Mayfield played well despite a broken finger.”
?The 13-Blue team had some hard fought battles at Mt San Antonio College, but couldn’t tally up the W’s. The team lost to Montecito 14s, Club Honu 14-Kekoa, and Pacific Jrs 13-Chris.
“The girls played great , they showed a lot of heart.” Said Coach Kim Buktenica. “Laurel Kujan played libero for the first time this weekend and did a great job passing and digging balls. Kate Mascari put up superb sets and made some great swings out of the back row.”
Trekking down to San Diego for the weekend, the 18-Smack team won their Division 1 pool, beating T-Street 18-Joaquin (25-18, 27-25), Orange County 18-Nike (21-25, 25-16, 15-11) and Sunshine 17-Westside (25-22, 25-17).
“Allie Eason really stepped up her game. She took some big swings on the left, and provided us with some much needed energy during pool play, and in our playoff game. It was nice to see all of her hard work pay off,” said Coach Jason Donnelly.
“The comeback win against a great Orange County team was a highlight of the day. After losing the first game, we were able to settle down and take control of the match.”
Despite a tight battle, the team lost its first playoff round to Laguna Beach 12-MS (25-19, 23-25, 13-15) and placed fifth overall and remains in Division 1
The 18-Blue also won their pool play and will advance to Division 7. There was a no-show team, so 18-Blue played two matches (best 3 of 5). The team beat San Diego 18-Nate (25-23, 25-20, 25-15) and Eclipse 18-Heat (25-21, 25-13, 25-20).
Said oach Jacky Yao: “The girls had a quick but successful weekend in San Diego. After starting the day a little slow, the girls turned it on. Lina Kleinschmidt led the team in kills and Mia Cattaneo was superb on the defensive side of the ball.
“The team set a goal for getting 17 blocks in celebration of Grace Halleck’s 17th birthday and, despite playing only two matches, on the final point of the day Cierra Merz came up huge against their hitter and contributed with the 17th block.”
