Dos Pueblo overcame slow starts in first and fifth sets and was on the verge of a tremendous comeback win against rival Santa Barbara High in a Channel League boys volleyball match on Wednesday night.
The visiting Dons, however, dug deep and outlasted the Chargers, 25-12, 22-25, 20-25, 25-19, 17-15, in a thriller at Sovine Gym.
Dos Pueblos outscored Santa Barbara 10-1 to erase a 7-1 deficit in the fifth set and was serving for the match at 14-13 after outside hitter Ewan Richards hit the ball into the far corner.
But the Dons responded as setter Ford Harman sided out with an off-speed shot. Raglan Kear followed with solo block on the outside to put Santa Barbara at match point, 15-14.
DP stayed in it as setter Grant Hughes fed Richards on the right side for a kill to tie the score at 15.
Santa Barbara prevailed in the next rally as Kear beat the Dos Pueblos block with an off-speed hit on a set off the net.
On the dramatic final point, DP libero Zeke Tynes made a terrific dig to keep the ball alive and the Chargers scrambled to get it over the net.
The Harman brothers ended the night as Ford fed Will for the finishing kill.
“I think we just won some of those big rally points when we needed to,” said Santa Barbara coach Chad Arneson.
Will Harman finished the match with a career-high 22 kills and Ford dished out a season-best 52 assists.
“Will Harman was our go-to guy and he kept us in most of those games. He was chiseling through everyone, so it was good to see,” said Arneson.
He also praised the play of Kear and the setting of Ford Harman.
“He was distributing the ball really well tonight which was key,” said Arneson of his junior setter.
Kear was Santa Barbara’s kill leader with 25. His hitting and serving were especially big in the fourth set. He had five kills and two aces, and his crushing spike at 7-7 gave the Dons the lead for good.
“Raglan got going. When we serve and pass, we’re a threat. I was impressed with his consistency,” said Arneson.
Micah Goss was a force hitting and serving for DP. He put away 19 kills and served three aces. Two of those aces came during a six-point scoring run during the Chargers’ stirring fifth-set comeback.
Richards had 11 kills and three aces and Jan Schmidtchen and Matthew Wilcox each had six kills for the Chargers. Wilcox, the middle blocker, also had four solo blocks and seven block assists.
Setter Grant Hughes was all over the court. He dished out 39 assists, had 18 digs, six total blocks (1 solo) and four kills.
“They’re a good team unit. They’re really good teammates to each other, and I’m seeing a lot of great support of each other. That showed in the fifth set,” said Dos Pueblos coach Ehren Hug. “One-seven is a pretty, pretty great lead for a team to have (in a 15-point game). Really proud of the backbone they had. They weren’t afraid of the service line, even in the fifth. Super proud of how they kept playing.”
Tynes provided a tremendous spark for DP, which came out flat in the first set.
“We ordered espresso shots but they didn’t get here in time,” cracked Hug about the team’s slow start to the match.
Tynes started throwing his body all over the floor to keep balls in play and he kept his ground on crushing blows from Santa Barbara’s Kear.
“He’s just focused,” said Hug of the junior. “He’s focused-up in practice, which is so important because that’s where you’re going to get better. He’s not afraid to stick his nose in there and hit the floor, and he’s just super quick right now.
“He was just making plays tonight. It’s probably the best match I’ve seen him play his whole career. It was real fun to see him make plays and keep everything happening.”
The Chargers, who were coming off a title at the Reseda Golden State Classic over the weekend, suffered their first league loss and are now 3-1 in league and 8-5 overall.
Santa Barbara is 3-1 in league and 8-4 overall.
Both teams are back on the court Thursday. DP hosts Rio Mesa while Santa Barbara is home to Buena. On Friday, the Dons host San Marcos.
Chargers have more volleyball on Saturday as they host their annual Dos Pueblos Invitational at UCSB’s Thunderdome.