Santa Barbara High got wins at the 1, 3 and 5 positions and beat host Santa Margarita Catholic High, 3-2, in a CIF-SS Division 1 girls beach volleyball wild-card playoff match on Tuesday.
The victory advances the Dons into a first-round match at Newport Harbor on Thursday.
At No. 1, Gracie Meinzer combined with Gwen Chenoweth to win in straight sets.
“Everyone contributed and played excellent today down, especially after our long drive down (to south Orange County),” said coach Kristin Hempy. “The two sets we lost were really tight battles. Santa Margarita was a solid opponent, but each Santa Barbara pair performed at the level it needed to secure the win.”
Scores/pairs:
1s: Gracie Meinzer/Gwen Chenoweth (SB) beat Emery Shields/Lili Tosches 21-19, 21-12
2s: Memphis Burnet/Brooklyn Kostoff (SM) beat Lucy Fisher/Malia Alzina 16-21, 21-17, 15-13
3s: Stella Borgioli/Tessa de Albegaria (SB) beat Regan Shields/Jenna Gallaway 21-19, 21-17
4s: Taylor Wadkins/Kayla Bandow(SM) beat Keenan Engebretson/Lexi Horton 20-22, 21-14, 15-12
5s: Vivian Caesar/Serena Byrd (SB) beatSaide Sugerman/Savannah Mostero 21-15, 21-13
Laguna Blanca 4, Wiseburn Da Vinci 1
The Owls were victorious at home in the Division 2 wild-card match and earned a first-round match-up with top-seeded Oaks Christian on Thursday in Westlake Village.
Sarah Woodhouse and Regina Lujan were a strong pair at the twos.
“They they played a fundamentally sound game and did a really great job of communicating, executing shots, and keeping the ball in play,” said assistant coach Rae Gulland. “Regina Lujan played an incredible game of defense.”
She also highlighted the play of Chloe Gidney and Paloma Lujan at the fours.
“Chloe’s serves were really tough. She went on a 10-point serving run in game two,” said Gulland. “Paloma’s clear and constant communication and defense in combination with Chloe’s tough serving and sinking shots led them to victory in two sets.”
Thousand Oaks 3, Providence 2
The Providence No. 1 team of Avala Elwood and Jane Krautmann won their match against Thousand Oaks, but the Patriots lost the other four in the first CIF-SS girls beach volleyball wild-card playoff match on Tuesday at Thousand Oaks.
“Thousand Oaks proved to be a deep team with a lot of good ball-control players,” said Providence Athletic Director Evan Covell. “Our team played well and had many chances with multiple scores of 9-12 or 10-11 at the technical timeout. But the Thousand Oaks players pulled out the wins.”
Elwood/Krautmann and Avala Elwood beat Thousand Oaks, 21-15, 21-19, to remain undefeated on the season.
The Patriots finish the season 4-3 overall in their third year fielding beach volleyball.