Santa Barbara High girls volleyball is peaking at the right time.
After a regular-season finish of third place in the Channel League, the Dons have rattled off three straight playoff wins to punch their ticket to the CIF-SS Div. 5 Semifinals on Saturday.
Santa Barbara High rolled to a three-set sweep of Gahr in Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchup inside J.R. Richards Gym, 25-11, 25-20, 25-20.
“I’ve been so impressed by her poise and leadership this season,” Santa Barbara High head coach Kristin Hempy said. “I’m really proud of all our girls for their discipline, team effort and focus tonight.”
The Dons will now hit the road on Saturday for a semifinal showdown with Ontario Christian.
Blake Saunders’ stellar postseason run continued on Wednesday, as she hammered down a team-high 16 kills and chipped in six digs and four aces.
“Blake really led the way for us; she is a force to be reckoned with on offense when she gets going,” Hempy said.
Jules Horton got the ball to Saunders early and often, ending the night with 24 assists to go along with five digs, three aces and two kills.
She also fed Lola Heckman and Kira Elliot, who ended with seven and five kills, respectively. Paylin Marcillac was strong on the defensive end with 11 digs.
“As a whole, our team played very sharply tonight,” Hempy said. “We were on point on defense, setter Jules Horton did a great job spreading the ball around, and our freshmen setter Eloise Becker got to come in and had a nice impact.”