Sam Meister, Santa Barbara High’s go-to hitter on its run to a CIF-Southern Section boys volleyball championship, was honored as the Division 2 Volleyball Player of the Year.
Meister’s powerful hitting from the outside helped lift the Dons to a five-set victory over Huntington Beach in the Division 2 championship game.
He is only the third Santa Barbara High boys volleyball player to be named a CIF-SS MVP. Karch Kiraly was the first in 1978 and the second was Matt Renshaw in 1992.
The 1992 team was the last Dons team to win the CIF title.
The high-flying Meister, who had 28 kills in the Division 2 final, will continue his career at UCSB.
Santa Barbara’s Chad Arneson, who played on the Dons’ 1992 championship team, was named the division’s Coach of the Year.
The Dons placed three players on the All-CIF Divison 2 team: senior setter Peter Tebbe, senior libero and Princeton-bound Matt Suh and junior outside hitter Alex Rottman.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.