Santa Barbara 17-Blue players Ian McLain, left, and Kevin Peters combine on a block during a recent Southern California Volleyball Association Points Tournament in Anaheim.
The Santa Barbara Volleyball Club’s 18-Blue and 17-Blue boys travel teams headed down to Anaheim for the second regular season Points Tournament.
The SBVC 17-Blue battled through a long day without its starting setter. However, Kip Lawrence filled in at the setter position and led the offense to a 1-2 match record and a 2nd-place finish based on a 3-way tie point ratio decision.
The team opened the day with a 2-set loss to Balboa Bay 18-White, and dropped a tight 3-set match to Seaside 18-Green The pool result gave the team an opportunity to move up a division, but it lost a hard-fought battle against Balboa Bay 17White (25-23) in the one-set playoff round and will remain in Division 3.
“Ian McLain had a great weekend out of the middle, hitting high and deep and being a presence blocking at the net,” remarked Coach Matt Jones. “Ben Beifuss stepped in at the libero position and was super steady in serve receive as well as digging a lot of balls, while Jared James also gave the team a lift at the outside hitter position. Jared brought a steadiness to our serve receive and some solid back row play as well as a series of solid performances from the service line.”
The 18-Blue had an equally tough tournament. The team steadily climbed up over the last 4 tournaments, and it met with stiff competition in division 2. Also down a player, the team had no subs and managed to play at a high level throughout the day.
Coach Justin Hertlein said: “The team’s finish does not reflect the overall high level of play the team sustained over the day.”
The team suffered back-to-back losses in 2-sets against MB Surf 18s and Evolution 18s, before pushing Vegas 18-Black to 3-sets, losing 25-20, 22-25, 15-8. The team subsequently lost the one-set playoff match to Bones 17s (25-21) and will drop to Division 3.
“Chris Costantino and Jacob Beifuss were very effective offensively, and Mark Rafael made countless amazing plays. The teams in pool were very competitive and it was a close loss in the final playoff set,” Hertlein said.
The teams are back in the gym preparing for the 2-day Holiday Classic this upcoming weekend.
