No. 3 Vaqueros Survive Five-Set Thriller, Beat No. 4 Santa Monica 3-2
By AJ Nagbe and Jimmy Friery
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The No. 3 Santa Barbara City College Men's Volleyball team (13-3, 7-1) outlasted No. 4 Santa Monica 3-2 on Friday night at Robertson Gym in a five-set thriller, winning the decisive fifth set 18-16.
It was the perfect time for this matchup to happen as the first CCCMVCA Coaches' Poll came out earlier this week, ranking the Vaqueros third in the state and the Corsairs (12-5, 6-1 entering Friday) fourth. Since both teams came into the matchup with one conference loss, the winner would come out in sole possession of first place in the Northern Region.
"I think this match said a lot about how well-rounded we are," head coach Bridget Kulesh said. "We moved players around, asked people to take on different roles, and they responded. That kind of versatility is a big strength for this team."
The match started tied at 13 before the Vaqueros went on a 7-2 run, taking a 20-15 lead. That advantage held to a 25-20 first-set win, a set where the hosts hit .375 as a team.
The second set was even better—the Vaqueros hit a blistering .462 in the set. Consistently up a handful of points, they cruised to a 25-19 win, one set away from clinching the match. One more set would be hard to come by, though.
After ties at 5-5, 10-10, and 15-15, Santa Monica pulled away to extend the match via a 25-19 win in the third set. The fourth set began terribly for the Vaqueros, down 7-1, but they came back to 19-18. However, Santa Monica would end up winning 25-22, and the teams were heading for a decisive fifth set.
"I am so proud of how this team responded to adversity," Kulesh said. "We could have just broken down after the fourth set, but instead, the team stepped up to the challenge and fought in the fifth."
Santa Barbara had multiple clutch moments in the tiebreaker. Keegan Hubbard served one of his two aces on the night to tie it up at 9-9. The two best teams in the Northern Region went back and forth until Santa Monica was one point away from a reverse sweep, serving for the match up 15-14. Hubbard's kill re-tied it, and then a Mykolas Petritias kill gave the Vaqueros match point. Santa Monica got one back before another Hubbard kill made it 17-16 Vaqueros. Andre Yarme was due to serve, and he confidently opted to be aggressive. An overpass fell right to middle blocker Nick Schultz, who ripped his 16th and final kill of the night to win the instant classic.
Mykolas Petritias led Santa Barbara with 26.5 points on 24 kills and three blocks, adding eight digs. Nick Schultz had 17.5 points with 16 kills—hitting .600 (16-1-25)—and three blocks, while Keegan Hubbard contributed 14.5 points with nine kills and six blocks, leading the team.
Luke Steinert led the team with 14 digs. Setters Ayden Welch (39 assists) and Devon Russell (25 assists) facilitated the offense, allowing the Vaqueros to hit .301 as a team in the hard-fought five-set victory.
With six regular season matches remaining, the Vaqueros have a three-match lead in the Northern Region-Canyon division. Naturally, they are also a match ahead of Santa Monica in the overall Northern Region, owning the head-to-head tiebreaker after a 3-1 win in Santa Monica a month ago.
Santa Barbara returns to action when they travel to El Camino on Wednesday, March 25, at 6 p.m. for their next conference matchup.