San Marcos Boys’ Volleyball Defeats Santa Barbara to Claim Outright Channel League Title

In order to win a Channel League boys’ volleyball championship, you have to go through Santa Barbara High, and San Marcos accomplished the feat, defeating their rivals 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 33-31 on Tuesday night at the Thunderhut.

San Marcos outside hitters Mason Rice and Jack Wilson combined for 48 kills as the Royals claimed their first outright Channel League title since 2014. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of all of the guys, but our outside hitters lived up to every expectation we’ve had for them all year,” said San Marcos coach Roger Kuntz. “With the buildup to all this, I think this was one of the best Santa Barbara versus San Marcos matches that has ever been played. There were really strong players on both sides of the net.”

San Marcos has been one of the best programs in Southern California in the last several years but has come up short when it mattered most against the Dons.

“In 2014, we had to win over at their place, and it went deep just like this one in game four,” said Kuntz. “It just went back and forth, with the outside just crushing it, and we were standing at the end.”

The 2024 iteration of San Marcos boys’ volleyball followed a similar script in its ascension to the top of the rough-and-tumble Channel League.

Set four proved decisive as San Marcos had to climb out of a deep hole after a Will Harman kill followed by a Santa Barbara team block put the Dons ahead 20-15. 

However, the Royals did not concede the set, as a left-handed kill by the right-handed Wilson cut the San Marcos deficit to 21-19.

A spike by Raglan Kear increased the Santa Barbara lead to 22-19, but San Marcos responded with two straight points, including an ace serve by Wilson and a spike by Rice that tied the score at 23-23.

From there, the two teams went back and forth with Santa Barbara desperate to force a fifth set and San Marcos unwilling to give up on its historical achievement. 

“You’ve got to give San Marcos credit; they fought back,” said Santa Barbara coach Chad Arneson. “We thought we were going five; it sure did look like it with the runs we were going on.”

A kill by Jack Holdren gave Santa Barbara a 25-24 lead, but San Marcos set the stage for a marathon finish with a solo block by Declan McClintock that evened the score at 25-25.

The two teams traded points until a kill by Harman tied the score at 31-31. Rice followed with a kill that gave San Marcos a 32-31 lead. Rice then went back to serve and delivered a tough float that gave Santa Barbara trouble. The Dons scrambled to get the ball over the net, and once they did, a Wilson poke found the floor to clinch the San Marcos victory

“That’s the best thing about volleyball: Even if you’re down by a lot and you’re feeling terrible, you can keep going, and you can win no matter what the score is,” Rice said. “Especially if you work as a team and never give up on each other.”

With the victory, San Marcos improved to 28-2 overall and 9-1 in Channel League play. The Royals are ranked No. 8 in California and No. 13 in the nation according to MaxPreps.