San Marcos’ Kristen Berlo is just one of many future NCAA players competing at this weekend’s Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara.
The Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions for girls volleyball annually brings in elite teams from throughout the state for a weekend of high-level competition.
Dons coach John Gannon has assembled a field for this weekend?s tournament that can be best described as over the top.
The high-powered 16-team event features three teams ranked in the top 20 of the Max Preps Xcellent 25 national poll: No. 2 Torrey Pines, No. 5 Archbishop Mitty and No. 20 Marymount. In addition, there are a pair of state top-10 teams: No. 6 Cathedral Catholic and No. 10 Corona del Mar.
?I can tell you that this is an exceptionally strong field, with some incredible teams,? said Gannon. ?There are a handful of teams, that could really make a statement: Marymount, Torrey Pines, Archbishop Mitty, Corona del Mar, and Mira Costa.?
The bracketed tournament runs Friday and Saturday at Santa Barbara High and Dos Pueblos. Friday?s action begins at 11 a.m. Matches on Saturday start at 9 a.m. at both gyms. The semifinals are at 10:45 a.m. at Santa Barbara and the championship is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. at the Dons? gym.
The term over the top also can apply to some of the players who will be here.
?The Torrey Pines roster doesn?t have a player listed under 5-foot-6; the tallest is 6-6 Jennie Frager. The Falcons also have three players whose fathers played professional sports: 6-2 outside hitter Reily Buechler is the daughter of Jud Buechler, who won three NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls; 5-11 setter Ryann Chandler is the daughter of former NFL quarterback Chris Chandler and setter Maddy Kerr?s dad, Steve, won five NBA titles playing for the Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs.
?Archbishop Mitty has a big front line with 6-4 sophomore Alexa Dryer and 6-3 junior Clare Powers.
?Marymount?s roster includes 6-4 Yaasmeen Bedart-Ghani and 6-2 Kaitlyn Edwards.
?Corona del Mar has a talented 6-2 sophomore in Hayley Hodson.
?La Costa Canyon has 6-2 hammer in opposite Brittany Abercrombie.
?Clovis West has the tallest player in the tournament in 6-6 McKenzie Jacobsen.
?There are a ton of girls with college commitments ? UCLA, Berkeley, other Pac-12 schools, as well as schools throughout the nation,? Gannon said.
Kristen Berlo, San Marcos? 6-1 middle, has committed to UCSB.
San Marcos joins Santa Barbara and Dos Pueblos in the tournament. Berlo and the Royals will go up against Jacobsen and Clovis West in a first-round match at 4:15 p.m.
Santa Barbara opens against undefeated Archbishop Mitty at 2:30 p.m., and DP takes on Mira Costa at 12:45 p.m.
Marymount, which started the week with a 17-4 record and has beaten Torrey Pines, Mira Costa and Corona del Mar, is the tournament?s No. 1 seed. Torrey Pines is seeded second, Archbishop Mitty is third and Corona del Mar is the fourth seed.
?It should be really exciting to see how this weekend plays out,? said Gannon.
Other events worth checking out:
FRIDAY
High school cross country: Santa Barbara County Championships, River Park in Lompoc ? Unbeaten Bryan Fernandez and Addi Zerrenner of Dos Pueblos look to defend their individual titles, and the Chargers hope to sweep the varsity team titles for the second straight year.High school football: Ventura (5-3, 1-1) at Santa Barbara (6-2, 1-1) ? The winner of this game stays in the hunt for the Channel League title. Both teams are coming off emotional crosstown victories: Santa Barbara beat San Marcos while Ventura knocked off Buena.
High school football: Buena (4-4, 1-1) at Dos Pueblos (6-2, 2-0) ? The Chargers, who are coming off a bye week, can clinch a tie for the Channel League with a victory.
College men?s soccer ? Stanford at UCSB, 7?p.m. — The Gauchos try to rebound from last week?s devastating overtime loss to Cal Poly against a Pac-12 opponent.
SATURDAY
High school football: Nordhoff (8-0, 3-0) at Bishop Diego (8-0, 3-0), at SBCC, 7 p.m. — It?s No. 1 vs. No. 2 for the Tri-Valley League championship. Nordhoff overtook Bishop Diego as the top-ranked team in the CIF-SS Northwest Division during the middle of the season. This game will come down to which team makes the big defensive plays.SUNDAY
College men’s soccer: UC Davis at UCSB, 2 p.m.: A must-win for the Gauchos in their final home match. They are in last place in the Big West North Division, three points out of second and five behind the first-place Aggies with three matches to play against the teams ahead of them. The top two advance to the conference tournament.
