Santa Barbara High will try to win its first CIF Southern Section boys volleyball championship in 21 years on Saturday, May 18. The third-seeded Dons turned back Foothill in four sets Wednesday night and will face top-ranked Esperanza in the Division 2 final. It is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. at Santiago Canyon College (8045 E. Chapman Avenue in Orange).
The Dons had numerous standouts in their hard-fought victory (25-21, 24-26, 25-23, 25-20) over an upstart Foothill team at Westmont College’s Murchison Gym. Tristan Fauntleroy finished off the first game with a definitive kill. They squandered a late lead in the second game, but setter Hart Pitcher made sure that did not happen in the third when he surprised Foothill’s Knights with a left-handed dump over the net for the winning point. The fourth game and the match ended with a Channing Peake kill off a set from Pitcher.
Ryan Worley was a big hitter for the Dons, pounding several spikes off the Foothill blockers. Joe Rafferty and Quinn Denkensohn were solid players throughout the match.
Santa Barbara’s second and last CIF volleyball title came in 1992. Since then, the Dons have gone 0-4 in the finals, winning only one set. Esperanza is a formidable opponent. The Aztecs’ junior hitter Jake Arnitz, who has already committed to UCLA, had 40 kills in a quarterfinal victory over Dos Pueblos and 26 more in their sweep of San Marcos on Wednesday.
The CIF baseball and softball playoffs begin this week. Dos Pueblos is seeded fourth in Division 4 softball and will host Monrovia on Thursday. The Chargers finished second in the Channel League to Buena, which is the No. 2 seed.
Dos Pueblos won the league’s baseball title and will open the Division 2 playoffs at home Friday against Laguna Hills. Santa Barbara defeated Pasadena 5-1 in a wild-card game and will visit Redlands. In other baseball games, Bishop Diego (Division 4) travels to Alhambra, and Carpinteria (Division 6) is home against St. Anthony. Cate (Division 7) hosts Faith Baptist on Thursday.
UCSB plays its last home baseball games of the year against Pacific this weekend. The Gauchos have won two-of-three in their last four Big West Conference series to enhance their hopes of playing in the postseason.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table wraps up another year of highlighting local school sports with its 46th annual Hall of Fame Banquet on Monday, May 20.
SCHEDULE OF GAMES
Thursday, May 16
SPECIAL EVENT
Professional cycling – Amgen Tour of California Stage 5: Santa Barbara to Avila Beach, start 11 a.m. at Cabrillo Boulevard and Calle Cesar Chavez.
HIGH SCHOOL
Baseball – CIF playoffs: Faith Baptist at Cate, 3:15 p.m.
Softball – CIF playoffs: Monrovia at Dos Pueblos, 3:15 p.m.; Bishop Diego at Pomona Catholic, 3:15 p.m.
Friday, May 17
COLLEGE
Baseball – Pacific at UCSB, 3 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOL
Baseball – CIF playoffs: Laguna Hills at Dos Pueblos, 3:15 p.m.; Santa Barbara at Redlands, 3:15 p.m.; Bishop Diego at Alhambra, 3:15 p.m.; St. Anthony at Carpinteria, 3:15 p.m.
Saturday, May 18
COLLEGE
Baseball – Pacific at UCSB, 2 p.m.
HIGH SCHOOL
Boys volleyball – CIF Division 2 final: Santa Barbara vs. Esperanza, Santiago Canyon College, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 19
COLLEGE
Baseball – Pacific at UCSB, 1 p.m.
Monday, May 20
SPECIAL EVENT
Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table 46th annual Hall of Fame Banquet, Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort, 5:30 p.m. Inductees: Faha Banks, Danny Beal, David Phreaner, Todd Rogers, Amber Stevens, and Joby Nunez. Reservations: www.sbart.org.
Saturday-Monday, May 25-27
SPECIAL EVENT
54th City Men’s Golf Championship. Santa Barbara Golf Club, 9 a.m. www.sbcitygolf.com.
RUNNING, WALKING, CYCLING
Information for most events: sbrunning.org.
MAY: 18 – Arthritis Walk, 1 or 3 miles, SBCC West Campus. ccarthritiswalk.org.
JUNE: 3 – Platinum Performance State Street Mile, Pedregosa and State Street. 6 – Start of weekly Reef & Run series, East Beach (through August 29). 8 – Vicki’s 3,000 meters, Westmont College. 14 – DRTE 100-Mile Trail Run, Sage Hill Campground. drte100.com. 15 – Santa Barbara Trail Run (10K, 30K, 50K) and DRTE 100 finish, Rancho Oso Guest Ranch. santabarbaratrailrun.com.
JULY: 4 – Semana Nautica 15K, San Marcos High.
AUGUST: 15 – Westmonster 5K, Westmont College. 18 – McConnell’s Endurance Events, Goleta Beach. 24 – Santa Barbara Triathlon, long course. 25 – Santa Barbara Triathlon, sprint course.