Taylor Nation makes a dig for the 15-Blue team from Santa Barbara Volleyball Club.
In San Diego last weekend, Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 15-Blue team put the pedal to the metal and won Division 2 to move itself back into Division 1. The team beat Club H 15s in two sets (26-24 25-19) and Westlake (26-24, 25-9). The team dropped that last pool match to Coast 15-Andrew 19-25, 26-28, but that only fueled the fire to win the next three playoff rounds.
?The team started out tough in the morning but lost a little steam against Coast,? said Coach K.C. Collins. ?But knowing they had a chance to get back into division 1, they really did work hard to earn the win over Epic.?
The team beat Epic 15-Breezy 25-22, 26-24 and then went on to beat Goldenwest 15s 25-21 and SCVC 15-Roxy.
?The team was especially hungry to beat SCVC in the final since they knocked us out of contention for a Jr. National bid the weekend before in Vegas. The successful day was a true team effort by all.?
The 15-White team held on to its standing in Division 5 placing 3rd in pool play for the day. The team barely lost to Pacific Jrs 15s (25-14, 18-25, 16-18) and Laguna Beach 15-KT (18-25, 25-23, 14-16), and beat Santa Monica 15-Asics (25-20, 17-25, 15-10).
?The highlight of the day definitely came in game 2 against Pacific Juniors where the girls were down, but responded out of a timeout and ended up winning the game! Peyton Shelburne keeps impressing us with her shots down the line and setter Quincey Kras gave our hitters opportunities to get good swings on the ball.? Coach Jacky Yao mentioned.
The 14-Blue team managed to keep itself in Division 1 by winning the right match at the right time. The team went 0-3 in pool play losing to Wave 14-Brennan, Sunshine 14-Westside and Long Beach 14-Rockstar.
?We had our chances late in both matches against Sunshine and Long Beach but we let some easy conversions slip away,? explained Coach Greg Novak.
The team then went on to win the first playoff match beating Sunshine 13-Southbay 25-19, 25-21 to remain in the Division 1. The team then lost the next 1-set round to San Gabriel 14-Roshambo to finish 11th for the day.
?After going 0-3 in pool play, we knew we had to win the first playoff match so the team picked it up a notch to finish the match in two sets. Gabi Peoples and Aubrey Knight both hit over .200 average for the day which contributed to the playoff victory,? continued Novak. ?The day was a good day in that it showed areas we need to focus on to become a better team.?
The 13-Blue team just missed the opportunity to move up to Division 3. The team beat the first seed in its pool Westlake 14s, but then lost to Laguna Beach 14-Hoff and Club H 14s, and placed 2nd in pool play on a three way tiebreaker. Unfortunately the team then lost the cross over playoff round to Genuine 14-Kaui.
?We opened the day with a thrilling victory against the number one seed Westlake (25-20, 25-22),? said Coach Ed Gover. ?Outstanding setting by Ady Colburn guided the team to a second place finish in the pool. Great serving by Abby Corpus and excellent defense by Sophia Fay and hitting by Caylin Zimmerman, Jenna MacFarlane, Julia Fay and Brynna Hodosy kept the team competitive throughout the tournament.?
The team remains in Division 4.
Also remaining in Division 4, the 14-White team finished 1-2 in pool play and managed to eek out the win beating Commerce Crush 14-Joanna in the ?deathmatch?. The team lost to Temecula Valley 14-Mark in 3 sets, beat SCVC Los Cab 14s in 3 sets, then lost to Club West 13-National in 2 sets.
?The team took some time to wake up in the morning, but soon found their stride taking 3rd in their pool and winning the playoff match,? remarked Coach Katie Julian. ?Isabel Bassi set a great offense throughout the day and Laurel Kujan played great defense against some big hitters. We had great serving by Bella Gniadek, Bridgette Tmur and Zoe Maritorena to give us some runs of points.?
The 14-Red and 13-White teams had a tough day, both going 0-3 in pool play.
The 14-Red gave the competition a run for their money taking the first two matches to 3 sets (LAVA 13-Ray 22-25, 25-20, 8-15 and Offshore 14-Squalls 25-23, 14-25, 10-15) and lost against Oaks 14-Carrie 26-24, 25-22.
?We were right with them most of the way, just couldn?t close out the matches,? said Coach Deia Kidd-Kadlubek. ?Megan Seabury led in kills and digs, while Maggie Wilde and Lauren Lokre were also steady on offense all day. Tatum Vestal worked hard keeping the ball from hitting the floor in the backrow.?
The 13-White lost to Genuine 13-Andrew, Laguna Beach 14-Megan and Club West 13-Red in Division 12. ?Kelly Bickett did a great job during the day. One of the highlights of the day was watching her receive a pass with her foot and score!? said Coach Jenna Boyd.
