There is now a three-way tie for first place in the Channel League after the Dos Pueblos High boys’ volleyball team outlasted Santa Barbara in five sets 25-18, 23-25, 25-21 19-25, 15-13 on Tuesday night at Sovine Gym.
The Chargers were led by senior outside hitter Noah Grant, who finished with a match-high 20 kills and dominated down the stretch of a back-and-forth fifth set.
“We’ve been working uphill at being a little bit tougher mentally because this game is played between the ears,” said Dos Pueblos High coach Ehren Hug. “With young kids, you just teach them to keep being your own best cheerleader and to be strong and positive for yourself, because the next play is redemption right there, so it was nice to see them really put it together in that fifth set.”
Dos Pueblos was on the wrong end of a five-set loss against San Marcos earlier this season, but they clearly learned from the experience.
“Sometimes, a crosstown rivalry will bring that competitive spirit out of you,” Hug said. “When you come out on the winning side, it’s a lot easier walk back to the car afterward.”
A strategic adjustment to move Grant to outside hitter from middle blocker and to move fellow senior Kawin Ramko inside has paid huge dividends as the duo combined for 37 kills in their new positions.
Ramko has played middle blocker for his club team for many years, and Grant is perhaps the most explosive hitter in the Channel League.
“I think that it has given a new identity to our attack,” Grant said. “I was the one getting the kills in the middle, but now that I’ve gone to the outside it has given the rest of the team an opportunity to score more points.”
The Chargers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the decisive fifth set after kills by sophomore Evan Daugherty and Ramko. However, Santa Barbara battled back and took a 7-6 lead on an ace serve by Jack Gligoski that lipped over the net.
After Dos Pueblos evened the score, Hayes Costner put Santa Barbara back out in front, 9-8, with a kill.
A kill by Ramko tied the score at 10-10, but 6’4” junior Kristian Dybdahl gave the Dons their final lead of the match, 12-11, with a cross-court spike.
A Grant kill followed by a dump by Dos Pueblos setter Wyatt Silver put the Chargers ahead 13-12, forcing a Santa Barbara timeout.
Grant gave the Chargers a 14-12 lead with a spike off the Santa Barbara block and out of bounds, which prompted another Santa Barbara time-out. After the stoppage, Luke Zuffelato kept the Dons alive and cut their deficit to 14-13 with a kill.
The final point came on another spike off the block by Grant.
With the victory, Dos Pueblos improved to 11-3 overall and 5-1 in Channel League.
Santa Barbara received excellent performances from Dybdahl and Zuffelato, who racked up 16 and 10 kills respectively. The Dons dropped to 11-6 overall and 5-1 in Channel League play with the loss.
You must be logged in to post a comment.