Coach Emily Curry kept the game plan simple for the Dos Pueblos girls volleyball team’s crosstown match at San Marcos on Tuesday night.
All she asked was for her Chargers to play their game.
They obliged and came away with the program’s first sweep against their Goleta Valley rivals in five years, winning the non-league contest, 25-22, 25-12, 25-10, in a hot San Marcos Thunderhut.
“We played our game, did what we needed to do on our side of the court and, obviously, the scores showed that,” said Curry, who’s taken over the full head-coaching duties for Nate Holmes who is on paternity leave as he and his wife celebrate the birth of their first child.
The Chargers, who are playing in the Pacific View League this season, got great production from middles Faith Harrison and Athena Bardakos, while Charlize Welch and Kyra Sample did their damage on the outside. Welch led the team with 10 kills, Harrison had eight kills, three blocks and served three aces and Sample put away five kills.
Setter Allie Ben-Yaacov did a good job spreading the ball around and finished with 22 assists to go with two kills and 2 blocks.
“The girls are just really playing for each other and are starting to gel and play as a unified unit,” said Curry, who played volleyball at Sacramento City College, club volleyball at Sacramento State and has coached with the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club the last two years. “When Faith and Charlize are on, we are almost unstoppable on offense.”
Harrison and Welch sparked a DP comeback from a 15-12 deficit in the first set. Ben-Yaacov fed Harrison for a kill to tie the score at 15. San Marcos sided out on a Guila Gislimberti kill before the Chargers countered with back-to-back points from Harrison and another from Sample for an 18-16 advantage.
San Marcos battled back and tied the score three times before DP took the lead for good (22-21) on a dump by Ben-Yaacov. The The Royals were whistled for four hits on the next rally. Lefty Margaret Deakyne sided out to make 23-22, but they never got the ball back. Ben-Yaacov scored on a tip and Harrison blocked an attack to finish off the set.
The Chargers rode the momentum of the first-set win into a blowout in the second. Harrison continued to dominate in the middle, Welch scored from the outside and on back-row attacks, and the team served tough.
“Unfortunately, not a great game for us,” said San Marcos coach Erica Downing, whose team gave Santa Barbara High a battle in their last crosstown match at home. “We really were making growth and then we have been hit with sickness. We have not had a full team and it has affected our team chemistry. Maddie Dodgin and Riley Miller came in the game with some confidence and energy.”
Aeryn Alexander had seven kills and Deakyne added five to lead the San Marcos attack.
The Royals made a push in the third set after falling being 10-2. They went on an 8-1 run and tied the score at 14 on an ace by Miller.
DP regrouped as Welch sided out and Sample followed with a kill from the right side to swing the momentum back to the Chargers. Emi Newton served an ace, Welch converted a block into a tip for a point and Newton delivered another ace for a 19-14 lead.
DP scored on another ace from Welch and capitalized on hitting and serving errors to complete the sweep and record its first victory over San Marcos since 2023.
The Chargers are now 6-9 on the season while San Marcos falls to 2-17.
