Santa Barbara High girls volleyball suffered a road sweep to Newbury Park on Thursday, 23-25, 12-25, 25-27.
“Newbury brought a lot of physicality and big weapons, and we battled really well with them in the first and third sets,” Dons head coach Kristin Hempy said. “Losing so close in those two sets tells us we need to work on mental toughness and discipline in the close matches to close those out and win.
“In the second set, our passing broke down a little, but we were able to clean it up for the third set.”
Blake Saunders totaled 10 kills to lead the Santa Barbara High offense, while Lola Heckman and Kira Elliot chipped in six kills apiece.
Eloise Becker did the passing for the Dons with 25 assists, and Paylin Marcillac shined on the defensive end with 12 digs.
Santa Barbara High will compete in Gold Pool A of the Cardinal Classic on Saturday in the Thunderdome at UCSB.
Santa Ynez 3, Dos Pueblos 0
The Chargers also fell in sweeping fashion to the Pirates on the road on Thursday, 17-25, 22-25, 22-25.
“We fought hard tonight against a steady Pirates team,” Dos Pueblos head coach Nate Holmes said. “We’re still looking to find our footing and to put all the pieces together correctly this season. We saw a lot of strong moments and good runs from the squad tonight, but we need to up our consistency to stay in those close matches.
“Overall, I am proud of the foundation we are building, and I’m looking forward to watching this team continue to grow.”
