A change in positions for Dos Pueblos volleyball players Kawin Ramko and Noah Grant has injected more energy and production from the Chargers’ lineup.
That was evident Tuesday night in a marathon crosstown battle with Santa Barbara High. Grant, moved from middle attacker to the outside, and Ramko, switched from outside hitter to the middle, combined for 37 kills to lead the Chargers to a 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-13 victory at Sovine Gym and create a three-way tie for first place in the Channel League.
Dos Pueblos, Santa Barbara and San Marcos are all 5-1 in league play.
Grant, who scored three of DP’s last four points in the fifth set, including the match winner, led all hitters with 20 kills.
“I think it’s given a new sort of identity to our attack,” said Grant of the position changes. “I was the one getting the kills in the middle but now I’ve gone to the outside, and I feel like it’s given the rest of the team an opportunity to score more points, and it’s given our offense a stronger momentum.”
The change was welcomed by Ramko because he plays middle for his club team. He finished with 17 kills and was in on three blocks.
“I love the middle,” said Ramko. “I’ve been playing it for about five years now, I have so much experience in it. I think that’s why it’s a great fit.”
The switch has been a blessing for setter Wyatt Silver, who did a good job spreading the ball around and made plays all over the court. He had seven kills, 11 digs and three blocks.
“It was just amazing,” Silver said of the changes. “It worked for everyone because Kawin loves the middle and Noah shines on the outside.”
DP coach Ehren Hug said he started playing with the position changes during the Dos Pueblos Invitational a couple of weeks ago. After Tuesday’s performance, it safe to say that lineup is here to stay.
“It looked comfortable for both of them tonight, and I thought they really excelled,” said Hug. “Kawin is just so quick off the ground, and he’s a pretty experienced middle on his club team over the years. So, this is a pretty nice, smooth transition. And Noah’s been playing outside a couple weeks and he’s picking it up with every swing and every touch that he gets on the court out there. It was pretty fun to watch tonight.”
The Chargers and Dons engaged in a fierce battle that lasted over two hours. The score was tied nine times in the fifth set. A cross-court blast by Grant created the last tie at 12-12.
A tough serve by Nathan Vincent forced an overset that Silver put away to give DP the lead for good. On the next play, Ben Wojogbe got a touch on Santa Barbara’s attack and the Chargers converted it into another kill by Grant to go up 14-12.
Basketball star Luke Zuffelato sided out for the Dons with a blast through the DP block to make it 14-13.
DP dug an off-speed hit and Silver fed Grant who tooled the ball off the block to finish with the intense, exciting match.
“It’s Channel League, man,” said Santa Barbara coach Chad Arneson of the down-to-the-wire finish. “DP plays well at home and I gotta give them a lot of credit. They were on-point in game one. They seemed to find their lineup and they were in a groove, you know. Props to them.
“But I give my boys a lot of credit for fighting back.”
Junior Kristian Dybdahl had a strong game for the Dons, leading them with 16 kills on a .483 hitting percentage. Zuffelato had 10 kills and four blocks and Hayes Costner added nine kills. Setter Chase Holdren dished out 42 assists and had 12 digs and libero Jack Goligoski picked up 14 digs.
Arneson said the position changes for DP have made them “more dynamic. They’re running a really good offense and making good decisions.”
The Dons had their chances in the fifth set. They hurt themselves with three serving errors, two of them coming after consecutive side outs.
“You can’t do that, you got to put the pressure on them, keep the ball in play. So, yeah, it’s the frustrating thing that’s kind of been our Achilles heel,” said Arneson.
Santa Barbara is now 11-6 on the season and Dos Pueblos is 11-3.