The Saint Francis Lancers of Mountain View came away with the title in the Santa Barbara Girls Volleyball Tournament of Champions on Saturday at Santa Barbara High.
The Lancers, the No. 15-ranked team in the CIF State Rankings, defeated Clovis High in four sets to capture the championship, 21-25, 25-9, 25-14, 25-10.
As for the local teams, San Marcos led the charge with a third-place finish while Santa Barbara and Bishop finished back-to-back at sixth and seventh and Dos Pueblos ended the day in 11th place.
The Royals were led by senior outside hitter Elena Thomas, who was the lone local player named to the All-Tournament Team.
The morning began with three of the four local squads competing in the quarterfinals of the Gold Bracket as San Marcos took on Notre Dame – Sherman Oaks, Santa Barbara High clashed with Clovis and Bishop Diego faced Newbury Park.
The Royals dominated the opening set against the Knights and carried that momentum to a four-set win, 25-12, 25-27, 25-22, 25-23.
However, the Dons and Cardinals dropped their respective matchups to fall out of the Gold Bracket. Santa Barbara was swept while Bishop Diego fell in five sets.
In the Dons’ loss, Keenan Engebretson had seven kills while both Maddi Priess and Blake Saunders tallied five kills.
“We battled hard and looked to move the ball around their big block, and even though it was a loss, our girls played smart, fast volleyball,” Santa Barbara coach Kristin Hempy said.
San Marcos’ victory propelled the team to a semifinal matchup against St. Francis, the tournament’s top seed and the 15th-ranked team in the latest CIF State Rankings.
The Lancers took care of business against the Royals with a sweep, 25-10, 25-19, 25-14.
San Marcos wrapped up the tournament by taking down Newbury Park in two straight sets, 29-27, 25-23, to come out on top in the third-place matchup.
Bishop Diego and Santa Barbara High’s losses earlier in the day set up a crosstown matchup between the two teams in the Losers’ Bracket.
There, the Dons defended their home court and defeated the Cardinals in four sets, 25-10, 24-26, 25-17, 25-20.
“This game held some emotion for both programs, and I’m so proud of how our SB girls created positive energy and came together as a unit to earn this win,” Hempy said. “We came out so strong from the first whistle, and never looked back.”
Saunders made a huge impact on the offensive end, racking up 18 kills from the front and back row. Meanwhile, Lola Heckman tallied eight kills and Engebretson ended with seven.
Gwen Chenoweth facilitated the Santa Barbara High offense to the tune of 49 assists, and Paylin Marcillac made her presence felt as well.
“We used tough serving to keep Bishop a little out of system and were able to just feed our hitters,” Hempy said. “This victory against a local, talented team creates great momentum for us going into the rest of our season. Our girls really earned it.”
After a short break, the Dons took on Yorba Linda in the fifth-place match and fell in three sets, 22-25, 29-27, 12-15.
“We overcame a 10-point deficit in Game 2 to get that big win, and even though we captured sixth place and not fifth, I’m so proud of how the girls played this weekend,” Hempy said.
The Dos Pueblos Chargers’ weekend was wrapped up on Saturday morning after they fell to Los Gatos in straight sets, 20-25, 19-25, 20-25.