Hart Pitcher made an impressive varsity debut at setter, dishing out 33 assists in Santa Barbara High’s 25-17, 26-24, 25-23 season-opening boys volleyball sweep over Royal on Tuesday.
With a player out sick, coach Chad Arneson inserted Pitcher at setter and moved Ryan Worley to outside hitter.
The team responded and notched the victory.
“If was definitely a team effort for us,” Arneston said. “We have a lot of new faces out there on the court. The boys rose to the challenge, so to speak.”
Quinlan Dougherty had nine kills to lead a balanced attack. Worley added eight and Joe Rafferty six. Hayden Millington came off the bench in the second set and spark a comeback from a 14-7 deficit with two blocks and three kills. He finished the night with five kills.
The Dons struggled at the service line, committing 20 errors.
“That’s something we can fix. We’re not going to worry,” said Arneson.
Santa Barbara faces a difficult challenge on Friday, playing Mira Costa at 7 p.m. at J.R. Richards Gym.
“It will be a reality check for us,” said Arneson.
