Emma Harrah, left, and Natalie Klapp put up a block for the Santa Barbara Volleyball Clubs 18-Blue team.
Jacky Yao’s Santa Barbara Volleyball Club 18-Blue team competed in the Gold bracket against some of the top teams in Southern California on Saturday in Anaheim.
“Unfortunately, due to 3-way tie rules, we came out third,” he said. “We were 2 points away from closing out a perfect day and being in Division 1.”
The team finished 2-1 for the day, pulling off two 3-set upsets over the first and second seeds in its pool, Bakersfield Jamba 18-Tom (19-25, 26-24, 15-11) and SVVC 17-Tyler (19-25, 25-13, 15-6). Unable to sustain the momentum, the team subsequently lost against Coast 18-Mike (25-18, 24-26, 15-13), positioning the team in a 3-way tie.
“This weekend definitely made us tougher and we learned that these are the games that we need to figure out how to win if we want to compete with the best teams in the country,” Yao continued. “McKenna Goss, Emma Harrah, and Carly Yarnell all did an amazing job in the middle as they worked relentlessly in transition and provided a constant source of offense for our team. Lexi Rottman and Clara Madsen distributed the ball magnificently and gave our hitters many one-on-one opportunities. I think we are making all the right strides as far as competing and playing as a team and I look forward to what we can do once Mandatory tournaments start.”
Due to a point ratio differential, the team finished third and will start in Division 3 for the regular season
On Sunday, the 16-Blue rocked the courts in the Gold bracket by sweeping the first two teams, Legacy 16s (25-15,25-18) and Starlings 16-Green (25-17,25-10), and winning a 3-set battle over 951 Elite 16s (25-23, 20-25,15-12).
Chloe Allen rips a ball during a recent SCVA Tournament.
According to Coach Tina Brown, “Chloe Allen had an epic match against Starlings, where she crushed 15 kills in 18 attempts with only 1 error. Lourda Weger, Phoebe Madsen and Gabi Peoples showed up big for out last match against 951. Lourda had 10 kills and 10 digs, while Phoebe posted a personal high this season with 8 kills in 10 attempts, all while running a very balanced offense. Gabi was solid in our last set, getting a big kill late in the game to get us momentum to finish. And Peyton Shelburne provided us with great ball control and energy coming off the bench and being a big contributor.”
The team finished first and will begin the regular season in Division 1.
The 16-White team finished 2-1 in its Silver bracket pool by opening with a win over 805 Elite 16s (25-23, 25-14) and then pulled out a barn-burner over 818 VB 16-Black (17-25, 26-14, 17-15). The team then lost to Vision Zone 16s (25-20, 25-21) to finish second for the day, and giving IT a starting position in Division 6 for the regular season.
The 16-Red team, competing in the Bronze bracket, started off with a couple of losses to Channel Islands 16-Smack and United VBC 16s, but bounced back at the end of the day to beat Sports Shack 16-Seth (25-14, 25-15). The team will begin the regular season in division 11.
