The Santa Barbara High girls’ volleyball team defeated Ontario Christian 21-25, 25-20, 25-23 and 25-18 on Tuesday night at JR Richards Gymnasium to advance to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs.
After dropping the opening set. The Dons locked in and used aggressive serving to take over the match.
“Our passing struggled a little in the first set, once we cleaned that up, everything was firing on all cylinders,” said Santa Barbara coach Kristin Hempy. “I thought we used aggressive serving to our advantage, and everyone committed to their role and played at the top of their game.”
Blake Saunders led Santa Barbara with 17 kills, five aces and 13 digs. Lola Heckman recorded 12 kills and two blocks, while Paylin Marcillac contributed 13 digs, and six aces.
Setter Jules Horton finished with 43 assists, three digs and one ace. Jacqueline Durling added three kills, three blocks and four aces, while Stella Peus recorded eight digs and two kills. Kira Elliot was a strong contributor defensively, finishing with eight digs.
The victory marked a measure of redemption for Santa Barbara, which lost twice to Ontario Christian last season in the CIF-SS Division 5 semifinals and the first round of the state playoffs.
Santa Barbara will host Ayala High School of Chino Hills in the second round Thursday. The match is currently scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Dos Pueblos 3, Torrance 0
The Chargers swept visiting Torrance in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs on Tuesday night at Sovine Gym.
Faith Harrison was a force at the net, leading the Chargers with an impressive 16 kills, 5 blocks, and 3 aces.
“Our passing was strong tonight, which allowed us to stay in system and give our hitters opportunities to find ways to score,” said Dos Pueblos coach Emily Curry.
