Santa Barbara High girls volleyball shook off a slow start and earned a four-set win over Valencia High in its home opener on Tuesday inside J.R. Richards Gym.
After dropping set one, the Dons (1-2) rattled off three straight victories to collect their first win of the year, 23-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-22.
“Overall. I was impressed with our level of play tonight,” Santa Barbara High head coach Kristin Hempy said. “We battled through a lot of scrappy rallies and both our defense and offense looks improved from last week.”
The trio of Blake Saunders, Lola Heckman and Kira Elliot led the way offensively with 16, 10 and nine kills, respectively.
“Blake continued to be reliable and steady for us. She swung really strong tonight and put away a lot for us. Kira had some really big swings as well on the outside,” Hempy said. “We’ve been working on engaging our oppo’s more, and kudos to Lola for being especially active and productive for us on the right side tonight.”
Meanwhile, Jacqueline Durling shined in the middle with seven kills, four blocks and four aces. Eloise Becker filled in at setter with 39 assists, and Paylin Marcillac paced the defense with 17 digs.
“Jacqueline stepped up big in the middle for us tonight, with some big blocks on defense and smart, scrappy placement on offense. She is emerging as an important vocal leader for us as well, and she’s got a great competitive drive that will be crucial for us this season,” Hempy said.
“Eloise stepped into running a 5-1 after our other setter Jules Horton had a minor ankle in the first set, and I thought she did a really nice job under pressure running the show. Payln was hitting the floor a lot tonight; she scooped up a lot of balls out of the back to keep the plays alive. Great leadership.”
Santa Barbara High will be on the road against Newbury Park on Thursday.
Arroyo Grande 3, San Marcos 0
The Royals dropped a non-league matchup against Arroyo Grande on the road on Tuesday, 20-25, 12-25, 12-25.
San Marcos is now 0-2 on the young season with a youthful squad after graduating every member of last year’s varsity team.
“Arroyo Grande is tall and physical,” San Marcos head coach Erica Downing said. “They had two great setters that moved the ball around and had a bunch of hitters that were able to get kills.
“We came out strong in the first game with great energy and great defense. We hung in there for a little bit with them.”
Margaret Deakyne and Harper Dees tallied six kills apiece for the Royals, while Anja Firestone put together a strong showing in serve-receive and on the defensive end.
San Marcos will compete in Bishop Diego’s Cardinal Classic on Saturday inside the Thunderdome at UCSB.
