The Dos Pueblos High boys’ volleyball team kept its hopes for a share of the Channel League title alive with a 25-18, 24-26, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Santa Barbara on Thursday night.
Senior outside hitter Noah Grant delivered a career high 24 kills and the Chargers thrived in key moments to capture the crucial victory.
“I felt so comfortable tonight just letting them enjoy it and they didn’t look frazzled,” said Dos Pueblos coach Ehren Hug of his team’s poise. “It’s hard to not look too far down the road but I thought they had a good focus on the point at hand tonight.”
After splitting the first two sets the two teams were tied at 22-22 in set three when Dos Pueblos ripped off three consecutive points to take control of the match.
Middle blocker Kawin Ramko ignited the run with a kill,Nathan Vincent cleaned up a Santa Barbara overpass after an electric serve by Wyatt Silver to force set point and Grant followed that up with a spike just inside the sideline to give the Chargers a 2-0 set lead.
“I’m so proud, they played some of the best volleyball of the season,” Hug said. “They’re just having fun. Sometimes you’ve got to remember it’s the kids that are out there and it’s their turn to have fun, so I kind of just backed off of them and let them enjoy their own time tonight.”
Santa Barbara appeared poised to force a fifth set after opening set four on a 5-1 run capped off by a kill from Luke Zuffelato.
However, Dos Pueblos immediately responded with a 7-3 run to tie the set at 8-8 on a Santa Barbara hitting error.
The two teams went back and forth until a kill by Kawin Ramko put the Chargers ahead 22-21. Silver followed with an ace serve increasing the Dos Pueblos lead to 23-21 and forcing a Santa Barbara timeout.
Santa Barbara cut its deficit to 23-22 on a kill by Zuffelato, but Ramko gave Dos Pueblos match point with a spike down the middle. The Chargers clinched the fourth set and the match when Vincent and Ramko combined for a block.
“We’ve got to keep our heads up and realize this is a good lesson for us and the season’s not over,” said Santa Barbara High head coach Chad Arneson. “We have a week off of hard practices and still have a chance to tie for the Channel League title.”
The Dons were led by sophomore Hayes Costner, who racked up a team-high 16 kills on a .481 hitting percentage and added four ace serves.
““It’s such a joy to coach [Costner], the kid is a stud. He’s a great athlete,” Arneson said. “He got us back in that game two with his jump serve. He plays defense, he passes, he’s a great all-around player. He’s not our captain but I know he’s going to be a captain in the next couple of years.”
Silver had a monster match for Dos Pueblos from his setter position. He finished with 43 assists, seven kills, six digs, five aces and two blocks.
With the Dos Pueblos victory the Chargers are now tied for second place in the Channel League standings with Santa Barbara behind first-place San Marcos. The Royals and Dons will match up on April 22.
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