High school girls volleyball was in full effect on Thursday with every local team in action.
The boys beach volleyball season also got off and running, with Santa Barbara High taking down Laguna Blanca.
Girls Volleyball
Dos Pueblos 3, Buena 0
The Chargers walked away with a sweep of the Buena Bulldogs, with set scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-18.
“Tonight’s win was a total team effort, every single player got in on the action and contributed to our win,” Dos Pueblos coach Megan O’Carroll said. “I want to give big props to our defense who were super scrappy all night and got some incredible balls up in the air that we could convert on offense.”
Leading the Charger offensive attack were Addison Low and Jayden Jones, who each had nine kills. Jones added in 11 digs and three aces.
Halle Rillie turned in another great passing performance, collecting 32 assists to go with her seven digs and two blocks.
“[Rillie] was all over the court setting up our offense and making her attackers look really good,” O’Carroll said.
Atasha Black and Sonia Mancuso cracked double-digit digs, tallying 13 and 11, respectively.
Dos Pueblos now has an overall record of 5-6 and is 2-1 in Channel League play.
Foothill Tech 3, Laguna Blanca 2
Laguna Blanca opened Tri-Valley League play with a five-set loss to Foothill Tech.
The final set scores were 28-26, 25-23, 18-25, 13-25, 15-13.
“I couldn’t be happier with the way we competed tonight,” Owls head coach Jason Donnelly said. “We were a couple of missed opportunities away from winning this match, but the overall progress we made as a team is incredible. From the first point until the last we were locked in.”
Freshman Charlie Carrington led the way for Laguna Blanca, tallying 13 kills.
“[Carrington] played well beyond her years and took some big swings in critical moments,” Donnelly said.
Natalie Bianchi added in 11 kills, 13 digs and two aces, Sophie Otte had nine kills, three aces and three blocks, Paloma Lujan collected 10 digs and Chloe Gidney ended with eight kills.
“Ginger Finney did a great job of getting our middles, Sophie Otte and Danica Rux, involved offensively early on and it paid huge dividends for us,” Donnelly said.
Laguna Blanca (4-4, 0-1 TVL) will take on Cambria on the road on Friday.
Santa Ynez 3, Cate 2
The Santa Ynez Pirates and Cate Rams battled in a back-and-forth affair that ended in a five-set victory for the Pirates. The set scores were 19-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-19, 15-11.
“We fought hard as a team tonight but ultimately lost a match that I think we were fully capable of winning,” Cate head coach Jordon Dyer said. “This marathon of a match, which lasted over 2 hours, was a test of our team’s stamina and I think fatigue was a factor for us.”
The Rams came out hot in front of their home crowd, picking up a first-set victory. However, Santa Ynez punched right back with a dominant 25-15 set win.
The third set was a close one, with Cate pulling away at the end to take a 2-1 advantage.
The Pirates then found success at the service line in set four and didn’t look back, securing the win and forcing a deciding fifth set.
In the fifth set, Santa Ynez jumped out to an early lead and maintained it, capping off a 15-11 set win and an overall 3-2 victory.
“The silver lining is that we had a lot of little hiccups throughout the match that could realistically be cleaned up over the next couple weeks, which should result in better volleyball,” Dyer said. “We plan on using this match as a learning opportunity so that we can prepare for league play as a better overall team.”
For Cate, Oyin Opawumi was atop the team in kills with 25 while Melanie Davidson led in assists and aces.
The Rams will face Foothill Tech on the road on Thursday.
Bishop Diego 3, Villanova Prep 0
The Cardinals came away with a sweep of Villanova Prep with set scores of 25-22, 25-16, 25-20.
Eliana Urzua’s 17 points led the way while Wynter Thorne-Thompson tallied 11 and Addy Wendel went on a 10-point serving run to close out the second game.
With the win, Bishop Diego moves to 5-7 and will now look forward to hosting La Reina next Thursday.
Carpinteria 3, Malibu 1
The Carpinteria Warriors took down the Sharks in four games, 23-25, 25-14, 25-19, 25-18.
The Warriors got an 11-kill effort from Averi Alexander while Jessie Marquez had six digs and Alexiana Jaimes added 15 assists.
Meanwhile, the middle tandem of Camilia Martinez and Sawyer Taff combined for eight blocks.
Carpinteria now sits at 4-4 on the season and 1-1 in league play.
Boys Beach Volleyball
Santa Barbara High and Laguna Blanca began the beach volleyball season on Thursday with the Dons taking down the Owls.
The boys beach volleyball league this season will include Santa Barbara, Laguna Blanca, Dos Pueblos and San Marcos.
The Dons duos that walked away with victories on Thursday were Ford Harman/Benicio Duarte, Raglan Kear/Drake Young and Huxley McGetrick/Kristian Dybdahl.
Santa Barbara will face off against Dos Pueblos on Wednesday.
