The Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 14-Blue team won its pool, giving it a boost into Division 1 in the Southern California Volleyball Association’s mandatory tournament finale.
The 14-Blue started its day with wins over Sunshine 14-Extreme (22-25, 25-18, 15-8) and Epic 14-Pat (25-22, 19-25, 15-8) before having a show-down against nemesis T-Street Carson, who it has lost against twice previously in the season.
“While we wanted to win to move up, more importantly, we mostly really wanted to beat T-Street,” coach K.C. Collins said. “It was a great match, with both teams playing very good volleyball.” Final scores were 25-21, 12-25, 15-12.
“Jenna MacFarlane and Caylin Zimmerman did a great job putting the ball away at critical times all day, while Brynna Hodosy and Kendall White were especially good with their defensive play in the back row,” Collins said. “Ady Colburn set a great game against T-Street and even recorded a block and two kills on the day. All in all, the team as a whole played very well, and did a great job staying aggressive even in tight situations.”
After just moving up after the last tournament, the 13-Blue team maintained its Division 4 standing by finishing third in its pool. Each match was a battle and went into the third set.
“Erika Foreman played very steady throughout the day with great passing and hitting,” remarked Coach Ed Gover.
The team lost to Club West 14-Elite and San Diego 14-Nancy, and finished the day with a barn-burner win over Beach Cities 14-Smack (25-21, 20-25, 17-15).
“All three defensive specialists, Devan Randolf, Taylor Robertson, and Allison Minnich did a great job in the back row. Chloe Mauceri played very well on the right side along with solid setting by Keara Rutz,” Gover continued.
Kim Yao’s 14-White squad finish 2-1 overall in its Division 10 pool. “The girls again played some of the best volleyball I have seen them play,” exclaimed Yao. “Mia Barton did an awesome job in the front and back row, hitting a lot of great shots. Sophie Breathed also did a great job in the front row hitting and blocking for us, while Megan Tighe worked hard defensively making some great digs.”
The team beat Temecula 14-Bonnee and San Clemente 14s before dropping its last match of the day to Mavericks 13-Black.
The 13-White finished first in its pool, winning all of its matches in Division 14. The team defeated Aviator 14s, Surfside 13-Kelly and Tustin 14-Cory. Coach Lindsay Schwartz said, “Ellie Chenoweth and Makena Burgner were team leaders not only with communication on court and their all-out effort on the floor, but really stepping up when team needed them.”
