A first-place showdown went down to the wire and visiting Ventura emerged victorious over Santa Barbara 21-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-12, 17-15 on Thursday night at J.R. Richards Gymnasium.
The decisive fifth set went back and forth as Ventura led 8-4 before Santa Barbara rallied to go ahead 13-11. The Cougars came through in the clutch to secure the fifth and decisive set.
“This was a very high-level game against a well-matched opponent. It was one of those that could have gone either way, with momentum swings back and forth the entire match, and especially in game 5,” said Santa Barbara High coach Kristin Hempy. “We were executing on every level and Ventura was matching us rally for rally.”
Ventura was led by Gigi Scalia, wh compiled 12 kills and 12 digs. Daphne Raymond contributed ten kills and four blocks. Kate Duffey finished with 26 assists, 12 digs and eight kills.
For Santa Barbara (13-5 overall, 6-1 Channel League), Nicole Schuetz was a dominant presence in the middle and racked up 12 kills, six blocks and six aces. Gwen Chenoweth finished with 19 assists and ten aces. Tessa de Albegaria added 13 digs and eight aces. Austine Wooten and Serena Byrd contributed eight kills apiece.
Ventura (12-2 overall, 7-0 Channel League) is now the only unbeaten team in Channel League play. The two teams will match up again for the final game of the regular season on October 10.
