8 Vaqueros make All-WSC; Young is Player of Year

Eryn Young won WSC North
Player of Year honors,
thanks to her stellar defense.
Ken Sciallo / Sevilla Photography

Gover repeats as Coach of the Year

Eight players from SBCC’s WSC championship team have earned spots on the All-Western State Conference North Division squad. Eryn Young was named Player of the Year and Ed Gover won Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season.

Santa Barbara went 19-8 overall and 11-1 in conference, sharing the title with L.A. Pierce. It was the fourth WSC title in the last five years for the Vaqueros, who won two Regional playoff matches before falling at No. 1 seed Irvine Valley 3-1 in the Southern Cal Finals.

SBCC tied for fifth in the state for its highest finish since 1999 when it was the state runner-up.

Young, a 5-5 freshman libero from St. Lucy’s High in West Covina, was second in the WSC in digs (370) and 10th in aces (41). She also had an outstanding 2.4 passer rating.

“Eryn was the foundation of our defense,” said Gover, who earned his fourth WSC Coach of the Year honor. “Her ability to read and defend our opponent’s best attackers provided us with many scoring opportunities in the transition game.”

Right-side hitter Jenna Anderson was a first-team choice and made the All-Southern Cal Region team for the second straight year. Anderson, the 2012 WSC North Player of the Year, led the conference in points (344), was second in kills (280) and eighth in digs (227).

Sophomore outside hitter Madison Waddell and freshman middle blocker Kristy Kearney earned first-team all-conference honors for the second straight year. Waddell led the conference in kills (287) and hitting percentage (.358) and was third in total points. Kearney was first in the WSC North in season hitting percentage (.308) and second in total blocks (57).

Jasmine Ward (3rd in conference hitting percentage, .302) and setter Madelon Leiphardt (2^nd in assists, 9.9 per set) were second-team selections. Middle blocker Taylor Badois and setter Ari Garner made honorable mention.

After suffering its only conference loss to L.A. Pierce on Oct. 9, SBCC reeled off 12 straight wins and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the state. They finished the year ranked No. 7.

No. 1 Lasers end Vaqueros’ season, 3-1

Jasmine Ward had 19 kills on Tuesday night and Jenna Anderson added 11 kills and four blocks but SBCC came up short in its bid to make the State Final Four in women’s volleyball.

Top-seeded Irvine Valley won the Southern Cal Regional Final match 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 25-17) in Irvine.

“We came out a little nervous and our passing was off,” said coach Ed Gover. “Irvine Valley was steady and they have a lot of talent. We played much better in the second set.”

The fourth-seeded Vaqueros (19-8) had their 12-match win streak snapped by the undefeated Lasers (23-0), who won the tough Orange Empire League.

Santa Barbara took an 18-14 lead in set No. 2 before the home team reeled off six straight points to take the lead at 20-18. SBCC finished off the set on a 7-3 run that produced a 25-23 victory.

The Lasers are 69-7 in sets this year with three of the losses coming to the Vaqueros. Irvine Valley edged SBCC 3-2 in the Vaqueros’ home opener this year on Sept. 6.

Madison Waddell added six kills and Taylor Badois had four for SBCC. Kristy Kearney had four blocks, Eryn Young made 19 digs and Madelon Leiphardt handed out 39 assists.

Irvine broke open a tight third set with a 4-0 run that made it 14-8 and jumped ahead 14-7 in the fourth set.

“We couldn’t stop their All-American (6-2 middle blocker Annie Mitchem) in the third set,” said Gover. “She was their go-to player. Then, she started the fourth set with four straight kills. When a player like that gets into a rhythm, she’s tough to stop.

“We fought hard but couldn’t get anything going. We still had a fantastic season with our best finish in many years.”

The Vaqueros ended up tied for fifth in the State.

Anderson guides Vaqueros into Regional finals

Jasmine Ward led the
Vaqueros with 17 kills.
Photo by Ken Sciallo

Jenna Anderson drilled 15 kills with 18 digs and six blocks on Saturday night as No. 4 SBCC survived a tough battle with No. 12 Pasadena to post a 3-2 victory in the second round of the Southern Cal Regional women’s volleyball playoffs.

Jasmine Ward had 17 kills and Madison Waddell added 14 in the 19-25, 25-19, 25-19, 27-29, 15-13 triumph that lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes at the Sports Pavilion. It was the 12th straight win for the Vaqueros (19-7), who moved into the Regional Finals on Tuesday at No. 1 seed Irvine Valley.

“I’m happy with the way we finished every game strong,” said Anderson, a 5-11 sophomore from Lake Forest, Calif. “They fought hard, we just fought harder. We wanted it more.”

Noralia To’omalatai led the Lancers (15-10) with 25 kills and 16 digs.

Kristy Kearney had 11 kills and hit .300 for Santa Barbara. Fellow middle hitter Taylor Badois added seven kills and six blocks, including two solo.

Setter Madelon Leiphardt had season highs with 61 assists and a team-best 25 digs. Eryn Young added 20 digs and Lara Bangs 17. Jane Petricka had three aces.

Pasadena, which lost to the Vaqueros 3-0 early in the year, jumped ahead 20-10 in the opening set. Ari Garner came in at setter and led a 9-2 charge that pulled the Vaqueros within three at 22-19. Briana Hilton had a kill and a block to cap Pasadena’s 25-19 win.

Santa Barbara built leads of 6-2, 12-6 and 19-11 in the second set behind strong play from Anderson and Kearney. The third set was tight early with eight ties in the first 18 points. The home team broke away on an ace by Petricka, a kill by Anderson, a Pasadena error, a sharp-angle spike by Ward and a block by Ward and Badois that made it 20-14. A booming kill by Waddell and a Kearney block ended the set in SBCC’s favor, 25-19.

“It was a great college match, both teams battled their hearts out,” said coach Ed Gover. “Nora (on Pasadena) is very, very smart with her shot selection and the precision of her shots. Not too many have a great roll shot like hers.

“They played great defense and so did we. I saw some crazy digs tonight.”

The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair with 21 ties and lots of lead changes. The Vaqueros got to match point twice at 24-23 and 25-24 but couldn’t finish the deal. To’omalatai finally ended the 29-27 marathon with an ace serve.

SBCC jumped up 6-3 in the fifth and deciding set when a kill by Ward ended the longest and most exciting rally of the night. After making the side change with an 8-7 advantage, the Vaqueros rolled off four straight points to make it 12-7.

The Lancers came back to cut it to one at 13-12 before the Vaqueros ended it on a block by Anderson and Badois, followed shortly by a tip from Anderson that went backward off a Lancer defender.

“I saw the block up and I thought ‘I’m just going to keep this ball in play,’ “ said Anderson, of her match-winning shot. “The line digger was back and I hadn’t done that throughout the match. I just said, ‘Let’s see what happens.’ “

What happened was the tip shot secured a thrilling 3-2 victory and the Vaqueros’ first trip to the Regional Finals since the format changed from eight teams in the State Finals to four a few years ago.

The winner of Tuesday’s match will advance to the State Finals on Dec. 7-8 at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, along with the other So Cal winner. No. 2 Grossmont will host No. 3 Golden West on Tuesday.

Vaqueros top Citrus 3-1 in Regional opener

Jenna Anderson had 12 kills,
14 digs and 3 aces in Tuesday's
3-1 Regional victory.
Photo by Ken Sciallo

Madison Waddell had 14 kills and Jenna Anderson had a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs on Tuesday night as SBCC opened the Southern Cal Regional women’s volleyball playoffs with a 3-1 win over Citrus. The scores were 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-15.

It was the 11th straight win for the No. 4-seeded Vaqueros (18-7). No. 13 Citrus, which finishes at 14-10, got a match-high 21 kills from Danielle Hundley.

“It was a really good game, I liked the energy,” said Waddell. “It was definitely a battle, we were so close. We pulled through and got sideouts when we needed them.

“Conference was a little bit slow and coming to the playoffs, we were so excited and energized. It’s do-or-die in the playoffs and if you lose, you go home. The energy was way higher tonight.”

The Vaqueros will host No. 12 Pasadena, which went to No. 5 San Diego Mesa and surprised the Olympians 3-0. The second-round match is set for Saturday at 6 p.m.

Waddell hit .343 and Anderson finished at .333 to go along with three ace serves. Jasmine Ward added 11 kills, including the match-clincher to the back line. Taylor Badois had five kills and eight blocks, including two solo.

Olenka Tuleja had 13 digs, libero Eryn Young 12 and setter Madelon Leiphardt, a freshman from Dos Pueblos High, had eight.

“Madelon moves the ball around so well and she’s able to find our hitters in open spots,” said coach Ed Gover. “And Ari Garner was great tonight, coming in and making some great passes late in the match.”

There were 13 ties in the first set before the Vaqueros pulled away late on two kills by Waddell and an ace and kill from Anderson. The second set was equally tight with the Vaqueros leading by three on a few occasions. They won the set 25-21 with a 6-2 closing run.

The Owls overcame a late three-point deficit in the third set and won it with a 9-3 closing burst that produced a 25-22 win.

SBCC bolted to leads of 5-1, 7-2 and 14-7 in the third set. After Citrus cut the lead to six points at 17-11, Waddell reeled off three straight kills to make it 20-11.

“In the playoffs, every team is good and Citrus had quite a few weapons,” said Gover. Their No. 6 had 21 kills and we pretty much couldn’t stop her. When she got in the back row, we tended to score more points, so we had to be patient as she went through the front.

“Our patience level was high today.”

Pasadena (15-9) has knocked the Vaqueros out of the playoffs in two of the last three seasons.

“They have an extremely good player and two good outside hitters,” Gover noted. “We played them early in the season (Sept. 13) and got them in 3 but right now they are peaking. That was a big win down at San Diego Mesa.”

Vaqueros seeded 4th in Regional, will host Citrus

SBCC was seeded fourth for the Southern Cal Women’s Volleyball Regional and will host No. 13 Citrus on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The Vaqueros, co-champs in the WSC North at 11-1, are making their fifth straight Regional appearance. They won their last 10 matches to finish the regular season at 17-7. Seven of those wins have been sweeps and they’re 30-3 in sets during the win streak.

Citrus (14-9) finished third in the WSC South with an 8-4 record. The Owls have won seven of their last nine matches.

Irvine Valley (20-0) was the No. 1 seed, followed by Grossmont and Golden West.

Vaqueros sweep to claim 4th WSC North title in 5 years

Madison Waddell and Jenna Anderson led a balanced attack with eight kills apiece on Wednesday night, guiding No. 7 SBCC to a 3-0 women’s volleyball win over L.A. Mission in its final regular-season match at the Sports Pavilion. The scores were 25-9, 25-16, 25-13.

Jenna Anderson, left, makes a block
with help from Megan Lunger .
Photo by Ken Sciallo

It was the 10^th straight win for SBCC (17-7, 11-1) and secured its fourth WSC North title in the last five years. Santa Barbara will share the title with L.A. Pierce. The Vaqueros are 49-5 in WSC action over the past five seasons.

Waddell, one of six players honored on “Sophomore Night,” hit a sizzling .615. Kristy Kearney added six kills and Jasmine Ward had five.

Eryn Young served 11 straight points, including three aces, as the Vaqueros built a 12-2 lead in the first set.

Eryn Young had 3 aces and served
11 straight points in the 1st set.
Photo by Ken Sciallo

“It’s always fun to honor the girls who gave two years to City College and bless their hearts, they’re such great kids,” said coach Ed Gover. “If you look at their body of work, they’ve won two conference titles and they’re 21-1 the last two years. That’s pretty impressive.”

Ari Garner was the setter for the first two sets and Madelon Leiphardt set the third. The Vaqueros broke open a close second set with a 10-4 burst that made it 19-12. They enjoyed leads of 7-2, 15-6 and 22-11 in the third set.

Jane Petricka had nine digs and three aces while Lara Bangs added six digs and four aces.

“Tonight was all about playing for each other and finishing our last league game strong,” said Garner, a 5-6 sophomore from Carmichael, Calif. “We’re excited about opening the playoffs at home next week.

“We’ve got some good momentum going, we just need to come out and play like we have been the last few weeks. It’s a little sad, thinking that my last home volleyball match is coming soon but this was a fun way to end the regular season.”  

The Vaqueros, ranked No. 4 in Southern Cal, will open the playoffs on Tuesday, Nov. 26 with a likely home match. The pairings will be announced on Sunday.

Waddell, Young fuel 3-1 win over Ventura

Madison Waddell had 14 kills on Friday night and Eryn Young made 16 digs, leading No. 7 SBCC to a 3-1 women’s volleyball win at Ventura. The scores were 25-12, 24-26, 25-10, 25-20.

Taylor Badois added 12 kills and hit .478 for the Vaqueros (16-7, 10-1), who extended their win streak to nine and remained in a first-place tie atop the WSC North with L.A. Pierce. Ventura fell to 2-21 and 0-12.

Jenna Anderson had 10 kills and 12 digs and Jasmine Ward also had 10 kills. Madelon Leiphardt contributed 15 digs, 38 assists and two aces. Jane Petricka had three aces.

"We played without Kristy Kearney, who had food poisoning, and Taylor and Megan Lunger did a nice job of filling in,” said coach Ed Gover. “Madelon did a good job of moving the ball around to our main hitters.

“Eryn Young had 16 digs and her passing was nearly flawless. She’s our steady rock out there. Sometimes the liberos go unnoticed but she’s a big reason why we’ve been successful this year.”

The Vaqueros complete the regular season on Wednesday when L.A. Mission visits the Sports Pavilion for a 6 p.m. match.