In its second round of qualifying in Anaheim, the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 18-Blue team bounced back from previous week’s third-place finish by winning its pool with a 3-0 record and regaining a Gold bracket spot for its final qualifying round for divisional placement.
“The team had a very good day,” commented Jacky Yao. “After putting a lot of emphasis on our serving and serve receive at practice, it was a joy to watch the girls step up and excel in those facets. We worked very hard at playing aggressively while taking care of the ball and it showed today, especially against Club West.”
The team started its day by beating Club West 18-National in 3 sets (28-26,21-15, 15-7), and then went on to beat Long Beach 17-Runbird and Temecula 18-Jamie both in 2-sets.
“Dane Miller and Bailey Roach, sharing libero duties, were excellent throughout the day and both consistently extended rallies with their defensive abilities.” Yao continued. “Emily Allen and Mariah Bell did a great job on the right side, they continue to allow us to give different offensive looks and effectively creating problems for the opposing blockers.”
Saturday, the 16s teams took over the courts in Anaheim.
Competing in the Gold bracket among the top 32 teams in So Cal, the 16-Blue team lost early in the day to Rancho Valley 16-Premier in 2 sets, but came back swinging tough and took a close 3-setter over Club H 16s (25-22, 22-25, 15-7) and knocked off Saddleback Valley 16-Trazi (25-18, 25-20).
According to Coach Tina Brown, “With the help of everyone on the team, we were able to finish top 16 this past weekend. Chloe Allen and Lourda Weger had solid performances both on offense as well as passing and defense. They both attacked aggressively and were awesome in the back row! Peyton Shelburne came in and played a solid role passing for us and brought us back from being down in our second match to a strong finish. Our setters Phoebe Madsen and Gabi Peoples continue to run an impressive offense. Great show for the team as a whole!”
The team will compete in the Gold bracket for divisional placement in its final qualifying round.
The 16-White started its day with a strong win over Club Koa 16-Blue 25-9, 25-14 in the Silver bracket. The team ultimately finished third overall subsequently losing to Impact 16-Bryan and AIGA 16-Black.
“All the girls played well this weekend. We were in a competitive pool and everyone pulled their weight and they played as a team,” said Coach Jordyn Druary. “Setter Taryn Stevens ran a consistent offense and blocked well for us. Kassidy Hamer was our kill leader and played well all day, while Cat Hogan dug crucial balls and kept the energy up on the court all day.”
The 16-Red team finished 4th for the day. Coach Sarah Amos said, “This tournament really challenged our team’s discipline. We learned a lot in how to work around teams and will continue to practice these skills. We worked much better in covering our hitters and making adjustments as necessary.”
