Boys’ volleyball: Santa Barbara wins thriller in Division II semifinal

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There’s an old adage that goes something like this: It’s tough to beat a team three times in a row. Corona del Mar managed to prove the theory wrong, though, defeating Santa Barbara in three consecutive matches over the course of the last two years.

The fourth time, however, proved to be different story.

The fourth time proved to be the charm for the frustrated Dons, who exacted a measure of revenge Wednesday and ended up on the winning side of things in a 16-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-17, 19-17 victory over the Sea Kings in a Southern Section-Toyota Division II semifinal match.

‘Oh yeah, Corona del Mar has had our number, but we got them this time,’’ Santa Barbara Coach Chad Arneson said. ‘We know their tendencies, so we were well prepared. We were pumped up and ready to go. We got the monkey off our back.’’

Will Montgomery led the way for second-seeded Santa Barbara (28-5). The UC Irvine-bound senior finished with 10 kills and four blocks. His counterpart, Jeff Carlson, who’s heading to USC, had 22 kills and four digs for the third-seeded Sea Kings (27-6).

-- Sean Ceglinsky