Jasmine Ward had 19 kills on Tuesday night and Jenna Anderson added 11 kills and four blocks, but SBCC came up short in its bid to make the State Final Four in women’s volleyball. Top-seeded Irvine Valley won the Southern Cal Regional Final match 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) in Irvine.
“We came out a little nervous and our passing was off,” said coach Ed Gover. “Irvine Valley was steady and they have a lot of talent. We played much better in the second set.”
The fourth-seeded Vaqueros (19-8) had their 12-match win streak snapped by the undefeated Lasers (23-0), who won the tough Orange Empire League.
Santa Barbara took an 18-14 lead in set No. 2 before the home team reeled off six straight points to grab the lead at 20-18. SBCC finished off the set on a 7-3 run that produced a 25-23 victory.
The Lasers are 69-7 in sets this year with three of the losses coming to the Vaqueros. Irvine Valley edged SBCC 3-2 in the Vaqueros’ home opener this year on Sept. 6.
Madison Waddell added six kills and Taylor Badois had four for SBCC. Kristy Kearney had four blocks, Eryn Young made 19 digs and Madelon Leiphardt handed out 39 assists.
Irvine broke open a tight third set with a 4-0 run that made it 14-8 and jumped ahead 14-7 in the fourth set.
“We couldn’t stop their All-American (6-2 middle blocker Annie Mitchem) in the third set,” said Gover. “She was their go-to player. Then, she started the fourth set with four straight kills. When a player like that gets into a rhythm, she’s tough to stop.
“We fought hard but couldn’t get anything going. We still had a fantastic season with our best finish in many years.”
The Vaqueros ended up tied for fifth in the State.
