In a battle of top-10 teams in the CIF-SS Division 1-2 poll, ninth-ranked Santa Barbara High took No. 3 Loyola to five sets and fell 25-15, 25-17, 24-26, 19-25, 15-9 on Saturday at J.R. Richards Gym.
Stanford-bound Will Rottman rose to the ocassion against the Cubs, blasting 39 kills on 53 attempts with ony eight errors.
“Will had his best game of the season,” said coach Chad Arneson.
Sam Meister added nine kills and setter Henry Haber dished out 53 assists. Libero Matt Suh was all over the court and picked up 19 digs.
Loyola used strong serving to dominate the first two sets.
“Down 0-2 in games, our team could’ve given up, but I was proud on how our boys played hard for each other and forced it to game five,” Arneson said. “I felt we had the momentum in game five but our inconsistent play couldn’t get it done.
“Santa Barbara showed that they can compete against the best teams in California,” he added. “It was a tough loss but having a difficult preseason will help us be prepared for San Marcos on Tuesday.”