Santa Barbara Girls Defeat Ventura

Santa Barbara High proved again that slow and steady wins the race, defeating host Ventura, 15-10, 15-11, 15-13, in a Channel League girls’ volleyball showdown for first place Tuesday night.

Trailing in each of the three games, Santa Barbara charged back behind its predictable but potent attack and gritty defense to improve to 8-4, 7-0 in league.

“It’s fun to to let them get ahead,” said Santa Barbara’s Dena Donnellon, a 5-foot-8 junior outside hitter. “Maybe we shouldn’t do it, but we like the competition when we have to come from behind.”

Donnellon pierced the Cougars’ defense for 21 kills, and another junior outside hitter, 5-9 Tricia Tuley, added 15 kills.

Ventura Coach Mike Russell said he knew that Santa Barbara would concentrate on its strong-side hitting, but he was frustrated that the Cougars could not contain Donnellon or Tuley.

“We just got beat on defense,” Russell said. “We knew what they would do, but they still just rammed it down our throats. We’re better than we played tonight.”

Ventura (6-1 overall and in league play) jumped ahead, 6-0, in game one as Kristen Or served four consecutive points, Sarah Mahoney put away a spike in the middle and Tuley was wide with a hit. But Santa Barbara tied the score, 7-7, behind Donnellon’s strong hitting and gradually pulled away when the Cougars began to make unforced errors.

The Cougars led, 9-7, in the second game before the Dons rallied again. A Tuley kill and a service ace from Raechel Levy tied the score and Donnellon’s four kills down the stretch prevented Ventura from catching up.

It was more of the same in game three as Ventura spurted out to a 7-4 lead, only to get caught as Donnellon banged down a pair of kills for points and a block by Megan McEwen in the middle made it 7-7.

After Santa Barbara’s Erin Wayne and Ventura’s Wendy Ward traded aces, the Dons took advantage of Cougar mistakes and a Tuley ace to go back ahead, 11-8. Ventura made one last stand as kills from Shelly Morrison, Ward and Mahoney tied the score, 11-11, and a pair of Mahoney dinks made it 13-11.

But on the verge of sending the match to a fourth game, the Cougars were stung again by a pair of hitting errors, a kill by Tuley off the block of a defender and a Levy ace that creased the near sideline.