Jan Schmidtchen had a big night for Dos Pueblos, pounding 15 kills and serving three aces in a 25-19, 25-22, 25-19 sweep against Rio Mesa in a Channel League boys volleyball match on Tuesday at Sovine Gym.
“Jan continued the offensive assault tonight that he started on the weekend,” said coach Ehren Hug, referring to Schmidtchen’s all-tourney performance at the Dos Pueblos Invitational. ‘He did a lot with the sets he got, front row and back, and made smart decisions. But when push came to shove, he went with the thunder, sending balls into the stands off of defenders.”
The Chargers also got solid play from middles Noah Grant and Liam Shields. They each posted eight kills and combined for four blocks.
“They carved up the Spartans also, reaching higher and higher for every set,” said Hug.
Setter/hitter Wyatt Silver had a busy night. He had 24 assists, six kills, two aces, one block and a pair of digs. Kawin Ramko also recorded six kills.
“Excellent team effort from all available bodies tonight,” said Hug.
Dos Pueblos improved to 4-2 in league and 14-6 overall.
Santa Barbara 3, Buena 0
Freshman outside hitter Hayes Costner made his first varsity start and delivered with 11 kills and solid passing in the Dons’ 25-14, 25-13, 25-20 win at Buena to improve to 6-0 in Channel League play.
“We were able to rest some of our starters and our bench players stepped it up tonight,” said coach Chad Arneson.
He praised the passing and defense of junior libero Theo Zapata as well as the passing of Costner, who posted a 2.80 average out of 3.
Setter Drake Young kept middles Jack Holdren and Finn Whipps active as each recorded six kills. Junior Mason Morales pitched in four kills from the outside and served three aces.
Santa Barbara completes the first round of league play Thursday at home against Ventura.
San Marcos 3, Oxnard 0
The Royals kept rolling after their Dos Pueblos Invitational title over the weekend, sweeping Oxnard 25-15, 25-12, 25-20 in a Channel League match on Tuesday.
Senior opposite Nate Loomer hammered six kills and freshman outside Matteo Burdick had five as San Marcos improved to 5-1 in league and 20-2 overall.
“We were a bit sluggish coming out of a very successful week and weekend and it was good to get back on the court,” said coach Roger Kuntz.
The Royals travel to Buena on Thursday to complete the first round of league play.
Laguna Blanca 3, Bishop Diego 0
Laguna Blanca used an efficient and balanced attack en route to a 25-21, 25-14, 25-17 sweep over Bishop Diego in a Tri-Valley League boys volleyball match on Tuesday.
Ganden Walker led the Owls with nine kills, while Drew Levinson and Tyson Deveze each had seven. Teddy Wilson also contributed in the front row.
“We played clean volleyball from start to finish,” said Laguna Blanca assistant Tanner Stevens.
Setter Liam Knezevic dished out 32 assists and served four aces, and Deveze led the defense with eight digs.
“Liam had his jump serve going tonight which was great, and ran a great offense,” said Stevens.
Nick Malesky led Bishop Diego with seven kills, Leshawn Cruz added five kills and two blocks and setter Will Neubauer had 18 assists.
“Laguna does a great job of exposing weaknesses in teams,” said Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett. “Tonight, they extended a few rallies that didn’t go our way and we committed way too many errors to stay in the match.”
Laguna Blanca swept the crosstown season series with the Cardinals and improved to 6-0 in the TVL and 20-4 overall. Bishop Diego is 2-3 and 8-11.
Carpinteria 3, Hueneme 0
The Warriors prevailed in two tight sets, leading them to the Citrus Coast League sweep at home. The scores were 25-23, 29-27 25-14.
Xavier Reyes led the attack with seven kills, while Mario Mares and Cole Rowbottom each contributed five and Andres Cruz added four. Setter Andres Quezada handed out 17 assists.
Serving was a key to the win as Carpinteria delivered 12 aces in the match.
Carpinteria stands in third place in the CCL at 3-2 and is 5-5 overall.