Multiple Vaqueros Prove Clutch in Comeback Win over Canyons, Await Playoff Draw
SANTA CLARITA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Volleyball team had a solid comeback win against Canyons on Tuesday night to close out the regular season. The 5-set thrilling match was part of the Conference Crossover with the WSC-South.
"It was great to walk away from the regular season ending on a win!" head coach Kat Niksto said. "I am proud of how strong a finish we provided in the 5th set, dominating from the first point to the last."
The Vaqueros won the first set comfortably, 25-17. However, that comfortability would not nearly foreshadow the remainder of the match.
Set two was flipped, with Canyons dominating to a 10-point lead and eventually winning 25-14.
Tied at 1 apiece, each team locked in hoping to take the lead. The third set was back-and-forth, but Canyons pulled away late to win 25-20.
Now down 2 sets to 1, the Vaqueros had their backs against the wall. They could have phoned it in considering their playoff spot was already clinched and they had already won a conference co-championship, but not this team, though.
The Vaqueros found themselves down 16-13 at a timeout, and traded points to 19-16 Canyons. After winning the next point, SBCC just barely kept the ball up multiple times but grinded out another point to make the score 19-18 Canyons. The Vaqueros won the next point to tie it and forced a Canyons timeout.
Canyons won the next two points, but SBCC won the next four to a 23-21 Vaqueros lead. Two more consecutive Canyons points tied it again at 23. After an SBCC timeout, the Vaqueros won the next point and Carly Hanna shut the door with a massive block to win the set, 25-23.
"We got a positive boost late in set four and in set five from Evan Ybarra coming in and providing a spark offensively to mix things up," Niksto said.
After barely keeping the match alive in a close fourth set victory, the gritty Vaqueros used that momentum to jump ahead to a 5-0 lead in the decisive fifth set. It was a set of runs, though, as things got a tad anxious shortly after; Canyons rattled off three in a row to make it 5-3 Vaqueros. SBCC then won the next four, themselves, before Canyons again won the next three. It was 9-6 Vaqueros into an SBCC timeout.
Both teams traded points, but Chaya Clemons proved too clutch for Canyons, getting the last 3 SBCC kills to seal the match, 15-10. Clemons was clinical with 11 kills, good for second on the team.
Kira Little was solid once again, leading the way with 13 kills. Nevaeh Tillet and Alexis (Birdie) Zevenbergen also had 7, while Carly Hanna had 6.
"Celia Espinoza had a steady night passing in serve receive, while Kira Little and Gabby Russell were all over the floor defensively with team leading 15 and 14 digs, respectively," Niksto added.
The 13-kill, 15-dig night for Little was her best of the season, her first double-double of the season, and season highs for both totals.
Natalie Lercari-Sullivan and Sophie Ward facilitated the offense well as usual, with 24 and 22 assists, respectively. Lercari-Sullivan also contributed 9 digs for third on the team, and Nevaeh Tillet had 8.
"All in all, it was a good road win for our team as we prepare for the upcoming playoff draw," Niksto concluded.
The Vaqueros await the playoff bracket to be announced but expect to be on the road this Saturday for round 1 of the So Cal Regionals.