Santa Barbara Too Much For Buena

Twenty-seven steps down a narrow, winding staircase lies the Santa Barbara High gymnasium, the “Den of the Dons.”

The fourth-ranked boys’ volleyball team in Southern Section Division I, the perennial powerhouse Dons have prospered under the low ceilings and ancient lighting.

On Tuesday night, an undermanned Buena team nearly turned the Dons’ house of horrors into a house of fun.

But the Bulldogs’ spirited effort fell short in Santa Barbara’s 13-15, 15-13, 17-15, 15-9 Channel League victory.

Shorter on size and depth, Buena stayed within striking range, but never struck.

“It was just a couple of plays in the end that we didn’t put together,” said Buena Coach Steve Berk.

“I never expected to play that well.”

They put together a nice string in the first game.

Trailing, 13-3, the Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run. Aaron Goldberg had three of his six aces toward the end of the game to seal the comeback.

The Bulldogs (5-5, 4-4) sped to leads of 6-0 and 5-0 in the second and third games, but both times were denied.

“I thought we played well, but we can’t finish it off,” said middle blocker Cameron Ohl, who had 11 kills for the Bulldogs. “We gave up, I guess. We lost all our intensity.”

The Dons (10-1, 8-0) found their spark at the right times. They went on runs of 9-2 and 10-0 to take the second and third games.

Santa Barbara’s depth and talent level were pivotal. Twelve players saw action for the Dons.

Buena, still adapting to the unexpected transfer of standout middle blocker Ben Quistad during spring break, basically used six players.

The net result, a scrappy contest for the Dons, wasn’t expected by Coach Bob Moore.

“To be honest with you, this is the ugliest match in 15 years (here),” said Moore, whose Dons were also short-handed. Two of their key middle blockers were out with injuries and their top setter was benched because of disciplinary reasons.

“We had a lot of reasons to not have a lot of focus.”

Justin Romain had 23 kills for the Dons.

Matt Prosser had 17 kills and nine blocks for the Bulldogs. John Garner added 14 kills and six blocks.