Volleyball is supposed to be a non-contact sport.
Don’t tell that to Santa Barbara High’s Paylin Marcillac. For the senior libero, fearlessly throwing her body on the floor and slamming her outstretch arms on the hardwood to keep an errant ball in play is part of her game and what makes her a special player for the Dons.
Marcillac was in peak form Thursday night as her courageous play sparked Santa Barbara to a 25-16, 25-23, 25-17 sweep over Dos Pueblos in a non-league match at Sovine Gym.
The Dons and Chargers are playing in separate leagues as the long-standing Channel League and a revived Pacific View League combined to form the Channel/Pacific View Association for the purpose of creating competitive equity in sports. The two five-team leagues were decided based on last year’s results and the final CIF-Southern Section ranking. Santa Barbara remains in the Channel League for girls volleyball while DP is playing in the PVL this season. Despite the change, the local teams will continue their home-and-home rivalry matches.
Whether it was scrambling after a shanked pass or dig, covering a hitter against a block, holding her ground to absorb a hard-driven attack to the back row or making a diving up on a tip, the elbow- and knee-padded Marcillac made her presence known against DP.
“She’s just like 150 percent going for everything; she’s all in for the team,” said coach Kristen Hempy. “She’s kind like the heart of the program right now; she’s one of our captains and one of our seniors. She’s the loudest one out there and leads by example; that effort is just very commendable.”
Marcillac made a spectacular back row play in the third set that kept a rally going and resulted in a point for the Dons. She launched her body to go after a teammate’s errant dig and flung her right arm like a lasso, whipping the ball back to the middle of the court where a teammate could hit over the net. The wild rally ended with Jacqueline Durling dumping the ball on two.
“She’s fearless, she goes for everything,” said Hempy. “I wish I could say it comes from coaching but it’s not. That’s all her, that’s natural, it’s all her and her tenacious personality.”
Marcillac finished with 20 digs and contributed to the attack with four aces.
Hempy said her all-out hustle and defensive effort provides a huge boost to the team.
“We talk a lot about being there for your teammates, so if Paylin is going to make that massive, magnificent effort, everybody else has got to match it,” said the coach. “You can’t be just watching her run and not doing your part. One of the plays she brought it back and we ended up not winning that play, but if there is a player that makes that much effort, we got to make that play because that is a huge momentum swing for us.”
Blake Saunders led the Santa Barbara attack with 13 kills, Lola Heckman put away seven balls and Kira Elliott added six kills. Durling had three blocks and a kill and was a presence at the net and tough at the service line, said Hempy.
The coach also praised defensive specialist Grace Costner (nine digs and three aces) and setter Eloise Becker, who ran the team’s 5-1 alignment. She dished out 30 assists and added three kills and five digs.
“It’s great momentum to get a sweep on the first of the crosstown matches, even though we are not in the same league as DP this year,” said Hempy.
The Dons are now 6-4 overall.
The Chargers (0-4) came close to taking the second set as they went up 23-21 after an ace by Alena Kielborn. A service error following a Santa Barbara timeout and a kill off the block by Kira Elliott leveled the score. The Dons’ last two points came on DP hitting errors.
First-year DP indoor volleyball coach Nate Holmes saw a much-improved team on the floor Thursday.
“I am so proud of our Chargers for fighting against a difficult Dons squad,” he said. “We worked really hard all week to improve our serve receive and that work definitely came through tonight. The second set is some of the best volleyball this team has played, and we have seen them get better every day so far this season. I am really looking forward to what’s ahead.”
He lauded the play of Kielborn, who came in for an injured Moana Martinez in the first set.
“The injury could have been a much bigger hit but Alena Kielborn, who has never played outside in a competitive match, came on and stabilized things to give us a fighting chance. It was awesome to see her step into that role and to see the team rally to stay competitive.”
Outside hitter Faith Harrison was DP’s leading hitter with eight kills followed by Kyra Sample with six. Allie Berrett had seven digs and Allie Ben-Yaacov recorded two solo blocks.
