The longest season in the history of Santa Barbara High girls volleyball came to an end Saturday night.
The Dons’ thrilling run in the CIF Division 3 State Tournament was halted by Helix of the San Diego Section, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22.
“This is the most successful team that I’ve ever been a part of since I’ve been coaching here for six years,” said Santa Barbara coach Kristen Hempy. “It’s all these girls. They’ve been together for two to three years, a lot of them on varsity, and you can just see it on the floor right now with the emotion they have. They love each other, and they love the team.”
Santa Barbara won a share of the Channel League title, advanced to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs, and fell one win short of reaching the state championship game.
After the two teams split the first two sets, Helix took control of the match in the third. Junior standout Aliyah Bowser delivered a cross-court spike that gave the visiting Highlanders a 22-20 lead.
Helix went on to take a 2-1 set lead when Santa Barbara hit a shot long.
In the fourth set, Santa Barbara took an 11-10 lead on a kill by Lola Heckman. The Dons extended their advantage to 13-10 on a solo block by Eloise Becker.
However, Helix regained control, putting together a 6-1 run capped by an ace from freshman Jolene Swiggers to take a 16-14 lead.
The Dons battled down the stretch and cut their deficit to 22-21 on a spike down the line by Kira Elliott. However, Helix proved to be the more composed team in the end, clinching the fourth set and a spot in the state championship match on a Santa Barbara hitting error.
Blake Saunders led the way for Santa Barbara with 19 kills, two aces, and 11 digs. Kira Elliott provided an excellent counterpunch with 11 kills. Sophomore Eloise Becker filled the stat sheet with two aces, two kills, 29 assists, and 11 digs.
“Shout out to our seniors, especially our senior captains Blake and Paylin (Marcillac), who have been a part of the program for a few years and set the standard,” Hempy said. “New girls to varsity or new girls in the program follow that standard. It’s going to be hard to replace them.”
