A crosstown rivalry can bring out the best in a team that’s been grinding to put it all together.
It did for the San Marcos girls volleyball team on Tuesday night. The Royals put up a good fight against Santa Barbara High in their first meeting of the season, but the Dons stepped up and pulled out a 25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18 Channel League victory in a sauna-like Thunderhut.
“A lot of credit to San Marcos,” said Santa Barbara coach Kristen Hempy, whose team improved to 2-0 in league and 10-6 overall. “I thought they served us deep really well and we struggled to pass those deep serves. They were digging really well and they had a nice consistent block.”
The tough serving of Blake Saunders allowed Santa Barbara to pull away from the pesky Royals in the fourth set. Saunders served three aces during a six-point serving run that broke an 8-8 tie and gave the Dons a 13-8 advantage. They got another ace from Jacqueline Durling to go up 15-9.
On her serving, Saunders said it was all about staying consistent.
“In my head I was saying, ‘Just get it in and let them make the mistakes.’ And, I was trying to really place the ball.”
Saunders led the way for Santa Barbara with 16 kills, five aces, 11 digs and a block.
“Blake had a strong night, leading us on offense as usual,” said Hempy. “She’s a confident leader for our team, so when we are in ruts, her poise helps set the tone for our less experienced kids.”
Santa Barbara learned early in the match that it had a battle on its hands against a San Marcos squad that is going through a rebuild with all new varsity players.
“They were digging everything and we have some really strong hitters, and we’re not used to that. They were so scrappy, getting everything up,” said Saunders of the Royals.
In the second set, San Marcos started converting its big defensive plays into runs of points and had the Dons frustrated.
After a Kira Elliott kill gave Santa Barbara a 13-12 lead, the Royals ran off eight straight points. Aeryn Alexander, a transfer from Santa Barbara, sparked the run with three kills and Maddie Pallad served back-to-back aces for a 21-12 advantage.
The Dons got as close as 23-20 before a Harper Dees kill and Josslyn Hall service ace finished out a 25-21 victory.
Alexander delivered nine kills and was a force in the back row with 25 digs. Libero Anja Firestone also was huge in helping the Royals extend rallies as she picked up another 25 digs. Dees took some big swings and finished with eight kills.
“We don’t have someone that’s going to get up and rip the ball, right?,” San Marcos coach Erica Downing said. “So we rely a lot on our defense and we rely a lot on the long rallies.
“To think that the entire team was in their first varsity game against Santa Barbara is shocking, right? Because we had so many players leave last year, (the current players) didn’t know this is what it’s like at the varsity level. We have a lot of things that we’re fighting with, just the inconsistencies of the new players. But, you know, they’re such a great group of girls. They’re so happy to be here and they come to practice and work hard on a daily basis. It’s great to have them see they’re being successful — taking a game off (Santa Barbara).”
San Marcos (2-15, 0-2) continued to frustrate the Dons early in the fourth set before the tide turned after a Saunders ace tied the score at 8. On the next play, a mistimed attack gave Santa Barbara the lead for good.
“I thought in the fourth game you could see that we were tired. The energy was lower,” said Downing. “They’ve never played like a three-out-of-five (rivalry match). They’re used to two out of three (at the frosh-soph and JV levels). There’s that and the heat (in the gym). I think that was a factor.”
Hempy said while the second set and the first half of the third was not the “prettiest” volleyball played by her squad, she was pleased how the Dons turned things around and won the match.
“I told the girls we got the job done and, at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
Lola Heckman came on strong for the Dons in the third and fourth sets and finished with 10 kills and a block; Elliott added nine kills. Libero Paylin Marcillac led the defense with 25 digs, while Grace Costner picked up 18; junior setter/hitter Jules Horton provided 32 assists, six digs, three aces and three kills and Durling was the block leader with three.
