SANTA BARBARA, CA – The SBCC Women's Volleyball team began their 2023 season Friday night, hosting Chaffey and Grossmont in the SBCC Tri tournament. After cruising to a 3-set victory over Chaffey early in the afternoon, the Vaqueros lost a gritty match to familiar foe Grossmont in 4 sets to cap off their opening day.
It was all Vaqueros in the first match, as the team filled with newcomers could settle in comfortably and played with a smooth rhythm throughout the duration of the contest. SBCC prevailed over Chaffey 25-10, 25-14, 25-13.
"It was good to get the first game nerves out as our starting lineup featured 4 freshmen playing the first collegiate match of their young careers," head coach Kat Niksto said.
That they did, as freshmen Evan Ybarra and Chaya Clemons led the way with 10 and 7 kills, respectively. The team as a whole served 11 aces, as well, led by Celia Espinoza with 4.
Match #2 was more of a test for the young Vaqueros, playing a squad that finished top 8 in the state last season in the Grossmont College Griffins. This was the third time SBCC has played Grossmont since the 2021 postseason—the Griffins beat the Vaqueros in the second round of the '21 So Cal Regionals in 4 sets, before the Vaqueros beat the Griffins in 4 sets in the first match of the 2022 season. This time, the Vaqueros succumbed 22-25, 19-25, 25-19, 23-25.
"Playing against our first playoff level team, I think came as a bit of a wake up call to the team," Niksto said. "The game got ahead of us a bit in the first 2 sets."
This was a match of comebacks for the Vaqueros, as the team showed a lot of fight beginning in the first set. Down 18-24 late, SBCC rattled off 4 straight points to bring the score to 22-24, before eventually losing the next point. It was a similar story in the second set, as the Vaqueros went on a 9-3 run after being down 10-20. At 19-23, they lost the next two points to drop the second set.
SBCC played more in-sync in the third set with their backs against the wall, and their renewed sense of urgency paid off. In a set that seemed like neither team ever had more than a 2-point lead, the Vaqueros pulled away late, eventually winning 25-19. Carly Hanna provided a spark in the middle offensively, while Kira Little went on a nice serving run late in game 3 to close it out.
The fourth set was as gritty as the previous three. The Vaqueros trailed 15-17 when the Griffins rattled off 4 in a row to make it 15-21. Then, SBCC went on a 4-0 run of their own, coming back to 19-21. After a Grossmont timeout, SBCC served down 23-24, but the comeback was thwarted as Grossmont won the final point and the match.
"I'm proud of how the team settled in and took game 3, while making game 4 a back-and-forth competitive battle," Niksto concluded.
The Vaqueros continue their hopeful season on Saturday in the Bakersfield Quad tournament at Bakersfield College, facing El Camino and Mt. San Antonio. At the time of publication, SBCC beat El Camino in a 3-set sweep. The Vaqueros will be back at home next Saturday for their own SBCC Quad tournament, playing Pasadena City at 10:00 AM and San Diego Mesa at 2:00 PM.
Gabby Russell, Evan Ybarra, Alexis (Birdie) Zevenbergen, Charlotte Wilson (Ken Sciallo/Sevilla Photography)
