Here are the latest results from the girls age-group teams of the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club:
The 12-Blue team had a great weekend of competition. Going 1-2, they lost to SG Elite 10-Roshambo (17-25, 17-25), beat Westside Warriors 12-1 (25-20, 25-10), before losing a heartbreaker to Mission VBC 12-Blue (25-6, 23-25, 12-15). Coach Tina Brown said of her team, “Frances Carlson was key playing great all around volleyball and stepping up her game to a new level. Our setters Ella Druary-Pullen, Ava Cole, Megan McBride & Portia Sherman are doing a solid job figuring out our new rotations and running the offense. An excellent team effort!”. The team finished 3rd in their pool for the weekend.
The 13-Blue team had an exciting day of play according to coach Keslie Brown. “Riley Borchardt set all around for the team and did a great job while Grace Johnson played amazing defense and hit well on the right side. Our middles Summer Nestlerode, Taylor Wilson and Madison Oriskovich had some great blocks and swings from the middle; and Elise passed and served great in the back row!” With close losses to Cluver 13-Eric (21-25, 25-11, 3-15) and DSVC 13-Det (23-25, 14-25), the team came back to beat the #1 seeded team New Wave 13-Platinum (25-15, 20-25, 15-10) to end on top of a 3-way tie and secure 2nd place in the pool.
The 13-White had a tough day, dropping matches to Coast VBC 13-R1 (21-25, 26-24, 11-15), Pacific Jrs 13-Destinee (20-25, 20-25) and BVA 13-3rd Degree (15-25, 12-25). Coach Grimes spoke highly of his team’s effort, “the first two matches finished extremely close; the third match was the toughest, as BVA brought difficult serving. Elie Largura passed and hit well off the setting from Natalie Scharin. Everyone on the team served exceptionally. The opposing teams service game was just a little better.”
The 14-Blue team competed in its third qualifying tournament on Sunday, and held its seed going 2-1 to finish 2nd in their pool. They had wins over Pacific Jrs 14-Kayla (25-20, 25-8) and Tstreet 14-Megan (26-24, 25-11), and their sole loss of the day was to Forza North 14-Asics (24-26, 13-25). Coach Newton commented, “The girls played great all day with winning a few close games and dominating in others. Bella Johnson was very good for us offensively and was rarely stopped by the other team. Brynn Sofro was great from the service line, serving bullet serves as well was Grace Matthews who’s mixed up short and deep serves extremely well to come up with a lot of aces.” This finish starts the team in Gold Division 2, the top 32 team in southern California.
The 14-White team continued its unbeaten streak this season with wins over Rise VTA 14-Teal (15-25, 25-21, 15-13), Volitude 14’s (25-13, 26-24) and Icon Mizuno 14-Lightning (18-25, 25-20, 15-9). Coach Crossland said, “The team played great today and continually surprises me with their ability to compete. We work in practice at specific volleyball situations and the girls made the proper adjustments, especially our two middle hitters Sage Streeter and Finnian Whelan. We also talk about playing “angry”, they did that today. I’m constantly amazed how far the team has come since the first practice!” Wrapping up the 3 qualifying tournaments, this places the team in the top of the Silver, division 5, to start the rest of the season.
The 16-Blue team had a successful Qualifier #2 on Sunday; going 3-0 in pool play, posting wins over Momentous 16-Rich (25-13, 25-13), Offshore VBC 16-1 (25-12, 25-22), and A4 Volley 16-Black (25-19, 25-10). Coach Bennett had lots of praise for his team, “Everyone contributed to our success on the court, and with lots playing time for a lot of girls, I feel we bonded as a team. Abby Corpuz played great today, contributing with 16 kills, 2 service aces, and key digs in critical moments of the games. Kate Willingham also played well at the net, with 6 stuff blocks and 7 kills. Despite being sick, Kelly Bickett set a great offense with Adyson Colburn. Both girls added great balance to the offense, and made great decisions with the ball. Our trio of ball control players, Kendall White, Izzy Mallet, and Sophia Fay played inspired defense today from all back row positions, as well as making great, hittable sets in transition. Their service receive passing was on point, and contributed to the success of our first ball side out play. Caylin Zimmerman had her finest performance of the year across the board. Her passing and serving were vastly improved from a few weeks ago, and she’s starting to get her rhythm back with the speed of our offense. “
Upcoming Events
This upcoming President’s Day holiday weekend, the 18 Blue team takes to the court for their first tournament of the season. Competing in the Las Vegas Classic, a three-day tournament, the team looks forward to some tough competition, and a whole lot of volleyball. Follow their results (and all club updates) through our social media sites: Facebook (Santa Barbara Volleyball Club), Instagram (SantaBarbaraVBC) and Twitter (SantaBarbaraVBC).