Santa Barbara High rebounded from a tough five-set loss against Corona del Mar by beating Salinas in four sets on the opening day of the girls volleyball Tournament of Champions at JR Richards Gym.
The Dons gave CdM, the No. 5 team in CIF-SS 1-AA Division, all it could handle in the first round. Tremendous defense and ball control by Santa Barbara made for several long rallies.
The powerful Sea Kings were able to capitalize on errors in the fifth set to escape the upset. The match scores were 25-23, 18-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-6.
In their second match the Dons defeated Salina 25-12, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18.
Lexi Rottman was tremendous setting the ball. She had 99 assists in the two matches. Lourda Weger led the team with 24 kills, while Tessa Dewell had 22 and Jackie Starnes 18 in the two matches.
The Dons play Campolindo today in the ninth-place semifinals.
Top-seeded Torrey Pines was upset in the second round on Friday by Mira Costa. The Mustangs won 20-25, 26-24, 25-18, 25-16.
They’ll play La Salle in one semifinal match at 10:45. La Salle, the No. 1 team in Division 1-A, defeated Dana Hills.
The other semifinal will beat Northern California rivals Archbishop Mitty and Valley Christian of San Jose. Valley Christian took the league title from Mitty this season.
Mitty defeated CdM in three sets, while second-seeded Valley Christian defeated La Costa Canyon in three.
