A season-opening matchup with a powerhouse Saugus team was an opportunity for the Santa Barbara High girls’ volleyball team to grow.
The Dons battled and avoided the sweep, but came away with a 25-16, 24-26, 25-14, 25-17 loss on Tuesday night at JR Richards Gymnasium.
“They are all super bought in. I am proud of them for the first match,” said Santa Barbara coach Kristin Hempy. “From the first set until the end, it got better, and that’s what we want to do, especially during preseason.”
Middle blockers Lola Heckman and Jacqueline Durling led the way for Santa Barbara with six and five kills, respectively. On the outside, Blake Saunders and Aeryn Alexander both chipped in four kills.
After dropping the first set, the Dons trailed 24-20 in set two when a Saugus serving error cut the deficit to 24-21 and brought Paylin Marcillac to the service line. Marcillac delivered back-to-back ace serves, cutting the deficit to 24-23.
Another tough serve by Marcillac resulted in a Saugus overpass that Heckman cleaned up to tie the score at 24-24. After a Saugus hitting error put the Dons ahead 25-24, another kill by Heckman clinched the improbable comeback as Santa Barbara ran off six consecutive points.
“We have a lot of really strong, consistent servers. That’s something that we work on a lot,” Hempy said. “It’s important to be able to execute that when the time matters. I was really proud of them in that clutch moment when the pressure was on.”
In set three, Saugus displayed its elite resilience. The Centurions finished with a 40-3 overall record last season and jumped out to a 9-3 lead in set three to regain control of the match.
The Dons will travel to another strong opponent in Mayfield of Pasadena for a non-league contest on Thursday.
San Marcos, 3; Arroyo Grande, 1
The Royals outlasted a strong Arroyo Grande team 25-11, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21 in head coach Erica Menzel-Downing’s return to the sideline.
Downing previously served as head coach from 2008-2016 and is now back at the helm of San Marcos, where she was a standout player before continuing her volleyball career at UCSB.
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