The Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 15-Blue team celebrates after going unbeaten in pool play in its final SCVA tournament of the regular season.
The Southern California Volleyball Association season wrapped up for the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 12s and 15s teams.
In their final tournament, the 12-Blue and 15-Blue went undefeated.
The 12-Blue team will be among the top 32 teams for its final Regionals tournament next month. The team knocked off Surfside 12-Erika, LAVA-South 12-1, and Pacific Jrs 12-Rox on its way to a 3-0 match record and first place for the day.
“They really impressed Kristin (Hipsher) and I this weekend,” coach Laura Marcus said. “Their positive energy and their ability to communicate and work together as a team paid off with our first 3-0 finish in pool play for the season.
“Danielle LaGrange and Brynn Sofro dominated the net, each scoring several points with solo blocks and over-pass kills. Ingrid Blau was very effective on defense, leading the team in digs. She also served some tough aces throughout the day. All season we have been waiting for someone to break in to a leadership role on the court, hoping it would unite the team and Reese Kelley really stepped into her role as a setter and did a great job leading the court and assisting our offense. It was fun watching all the girls rally together and fight for every point.”
The 15-Blue also earned a first-place finish with a 3-0 record and boosting them back into Division 1 to finish the regular season.
“Their goal was to win the pool and return to Division 1 and they did just that,” said Coach John Sener.
The team opened up with a three-set win over Reef 15-Brock, and defeated both Laguna Beach 15-Lauren and Epic 15-Shawn in two sets.
“Soleil Hallig had the match of the season. She stepped in for a missing player, played all six rotations and hit over .600 in our last match to seal our finish. Her defense was key in the back row and allowed our pin players Sammy Slater and Delaney Mayfield to tee off on the opposition,” said Sener.
The team will enter the Regionals tournament ranked 16th in the SCVA.
The 15-Red team finished strong in second place despite having to make big last minute adjustment. The team started the day with two close three-set matches. The team beat IEVC 15-White 16-14 in the third set and lost Pacific Jrs 15-Rox 14-16 in the third set.
“Our setter Erin Holehouse got injured so Joan Curran (one of our liberos) stepped up as the setter, and helped us to a win in our final match vs Impact,” said Coach Dino Garcia.
The team beat Impact 15-Rachelle, the first seed in its pool, to finish second on the day. “I’m very proud of my team for dealing with the challenging adjustments so successfully,” Garcia said.
The 15-White team, having moved up a division from last tournament, struggled with some tough competition. The team finished the day with a 0-3 record, dropping matches to Rancho Valley 15-Premier, Sports Shack 15-Lainey and Pacific Jrs 15-Dermott.
The 15-White and 15-Red teams will finish their seasons with the two-day final Regionals tournament next month.
