Dons players celebrate a point won on Saturday evening at Westmont College.
Santa Barbara High ended Oak Park’s quest for a repeat CIF championship on Saturday night in an emotional 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 18-25, 15-8 decision in Murchison Gym at Westmont College.
The Dons will take their first final four trip since 2008 on Wednesday for the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 Tournament. They will meet Foothill, 25-16, 25-22, 19-25, 18-25, 15-12 winners over Laguna Beach.
Wednesday’s match will be in Santa Barbara at Wesmont College starting at 6 p.m.
Santa Barbara’s Tristan Fauntleroy totaled 15 kills for the Dons.
“It’s big,” said Dons senior setter Hart Pitcher. “I don’t know if at the beginning of the season we would have ever expected to get this far. We worked so hard, with so many injuries, so many people out, we just worked super-hard this season so I’m stoked.”
For Oak Park, the defending Division-2 champion ends its season with a record of 23-9.
The Eagles nearly lived to see another day by rallying with wins in games three and four after initially falling into a 0-2 hole. Oak Park seemed to be in total control heading into the fifth frame with a 24-15 lead in game four.
But the Dons were able to gain a few extra points, a little streak that Dons head coach Chad Arneson credited with feeding Santa Barbara’s fire in the fifth game.
“They obviously were playing well but I thought our guys showed some fight in them when we were down so much,” Arneson said. “I think we gained some momentum going into that fifth game. That was big for us.”
The Dons’ home crowd rose to its feet at the beginning of the final set and the team responded. Channing Peake was especially inspired, getting a block, calling for a set from Hart Pitcher, and delivering the kill from the middle on a key point early in game that made the score 4-1 and forced an Oak Park timeout.
Peake finished with six kills and seven blocks. Ryan Worley, who led the Dons with 16 kills, sealed the win with his 16th kill on match point.
“When we play even-keeled, high-energy, we’re really hard to beat and we brought that back in the fifth set and I think that did it for us,” Worley said.
After Oak Park’s timeout, the Dons continued to build an 11-4 lead. Errors that had plagued the Eagles in the first two sets reappeared after disappearing in the third and fourth sets.
“Well, we didn’t particularly play well tonight. We missed so many serves and I don’t think it was anything they did,” said Oak Park head coach Patrick Quinn.
The Eagles closed the gap slightly to 13-8 before the Dons shut the door.
It’s the second time this season the two teams have played. Oak Park won the first matchup in the quarterfinals of the Dos Pueblos Invitational.
“We knew that they were good and that they could beat us, but we just wanted to keep that high energy because that when we’re playing best,” Worley said.
Tristan Fauntleroy collected 15 kills, including four in a five-point stretch late in the second set that swung that game in Santa Barbara’s favor.
Oak Park reduced their errors and found a net game in games three and four. Six-foot-7 middle Daniel Park came to life and effectively shut off Fauntleroy and the Dons hitters with the help of Woody Cook and Kevin Gordon.
After the match, Quinn lashed out at what he perceived to be gamesmanship from Santa Barbara.
“I think Santa Barbara is a bunch of bush-leaguers,” Quinn said. “That’s my opinion because every time we go back to serve, they’re wiping the floor with their sweat to slow down our game. I don’t play that game. I believe in fair play and that’s coming from their head coach.”
Arneson dismissed Quinn’s comments.
“No. There’s no such thing,” Arneson said.
