With a spring break trip to Hawaii on the horizon the Santa Barbara High boys’ volleyball took care of business with a 25-12, 25-15, 25-11 sweep of Ventura in a Channel League matchup on Thursday night.
With the victory the Dons improve to 5-0 in Channel League play and remain in prime position to reach their goals with the second round of league play ahead.
“It was definitely a great team win for us,” said Santa Barbara High coach Chad Arneson. “It was nice to get some of our guys a rest going into Hawaii.”
Many of Santa Barbara’s top players did not play key cogs Will Harman, Raglan Kear and Will Harman sat out for rest giving opportunities for key reserves to make an impact.
The Don were especially dangerous with their serving as they racked up nine aces as a group. Benicio Duarte and Jameson Savellano led the way with three aces apiece.
After jumping out early and taking set one, 25-12, Santa Barbara faced more resistance from Ventura in set two. The Cougars closed their deficit to 21-15 on a Santa Barbara serving error, but the Dons closed the set on 4-0 run.
An ace serve by Savellano brought Santa Barbara to set point at 24-15 and after a long rally The Dons clinched the on a Ventura hitting error.
In set three, Santa Barbara took a 7-1 lead on a block by Alec Hamman and increased its lead to 15-5 on a kill by Henry Becker. Hamman went on to clinch the third set and the match 25-11 with a powerful spike.
Hayes Costner finished with a team-high nine kills for Santa Barbara. Duarte added seven kills and Jack Holdren chipped in five kills.
Bishop Diego 3, St. Bonaventure 2
The Cardinals improved to 9-11 overall and 3-3 in Tri-Valley League play with the 23-25, 25-12, 25-17, 23-25, 15-13 victory. Lashawn Cruz finished with 12 kills. Nick Malesky added six blocks. Thomas Gaggs contributed ten kills and three aces.
Dos Pueblos 3, Pacifica 0
The Chargers completed the sweep of Pacifica 25-8, 25-7, 25-14. Dos Pueblos improves to 15-6 overall this season and 5-2 in Channel League play.
San Marcos 3 Buena 0
The Royals improved their record to an impressive 21-2 overall and 6-1 in Channel League with the 25-6, 25-6, 25-14 sweep of the Bulldogs.
Laguna Blanca 3 Cate 0
Laguna Blanca earned the sweep after three close sets 25-22, 25-20, 25-20. Ganden Walker led the Owls with 15 kills and Tyson Deveze added nine.
The Owls are 21-4 overall and 7-0 in tri-Valley League play.