Santa Barbara High’s girls volleyball team made a little history Tuesday night in its CIF State Tournament opener.
The Dons won the program’s first state tourney match since 2006, defeating Villa Park in four sets in a Division 3 state regional at J.R. Richards Gym. The scores were 25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 25-15.
Santa Barbara’s last state victory came against Clovis in five sets 20 years ago. That team was coached by John Gannon, a long-time teacher at the school who serves as the public address announcer for volleyball matches.
After a nine-day layoff following a loss in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 semifinals, Santa Barbara shook off some early nerves and took charge of the match against the section’s Division 6 champions. Outside hitters Kira Elliott and Blake Saunders cranked up the offense, while back-row players Paylin Marcillac and Grace Costner frustrated Villa Park with their solid defensive play.
“I think we were a little nervous,” said Marcillac about returning to competition. “We haven’t played a game in like a week and a half and we’re used to playing a game every other day. Our nerves kind of showed when we were down in the first set, but then we kind of realized that this is our home court, this is where we play. So, yeah, we got it back.”
As the No. 1 seed in the 16-team South Regional, the Dons (27-11) can play at home through the regional finals. They’ll host Steele Canyon of the San Diego Section in a quarterfinal match on Thursday.
“Everybody’s going to be good,” said Santa Barbara coach Kristin Hempy of the competition in Division 3. “Just because a team is seeded 16th, they’re still going to be a really good team, right? But (being the top seed) gives us the home court advantage, which is just so crucial. And, we play really well at home; we have a great record at home. We don’t have to do the long travel, and it’s confidence boosting for the girls, right? To be top seed and get the win and move into Thursday.”
Villa Park, boosted by a loud group of supporters, pushed the Dons in the third set. The Spartans opened up a 20-12 lead before Marcillac’s serving and the hitting of Saunders sparked a seven-point run. A Saunders kill from sophomore setter Eloise Becker tied the score at 21 and a violation against Villa Park gave the Dons a 22-21 lead.
But a couple of hitting errors killed the momentum, and the Spartans (17-11) scored the last two points on a kill by Rachel Lee and a Devyn Mitchell block to stay alive in the match.
“We almost made that comeback all the way in the third set,” said Hempy. “I think that was the confidence building going into the fourth set. It can be hard to turn around momentum that quickly but (the players) were able to make that work.”
Marcillac said she was glad to see the team bounce back from their mistakes in the third set.
“It was just about us being consistent and playing together as a team, and it really came back. And, I think our energy kind of got in their heads, which helped a lot.”
Villa Park kept it close in the fourth set before Becker served back-to-back aces for a 17-13 lead. Saunders tooled a block and followed with an ace and Jacqueline Durling stuffed an attempted on-two attack and put away a Becker set, expanding the lead to 21-14.
Becker’s insertion into the match added a different dimension to the Santa Barbara attack.
“She did great,” said Marcillac of the sophomore who shared setting duties with junior Jules Horton. “We don’t really run a 6-2 (a two-setter alignment). We ran it in the third and fourth sets and I think that made a big difference for us and helped our momentum.”
Becker had 12 assists, two kills, two digs and two aces in her time on the court.
Her play impressed Hempy.
“She came in at a tough time. I threw her in there, and she’s just composed. And I think she made a difference,” said the coach.
Saunders, Marcillac and Horton recorded double-doubles in the win. Saunders had 20 kills and 12 digs to go with a pair of aces and a block; Marcillac picked up 22 digs and had 24 service receptions and served five aces, while Horton dished out 28 assists, collected 11 digs, served two aces and added kill. Elliott was second on the team in kills with 12 and Durling added seven to go with two blocks.
