Campbell Hall Loses Battle of Witt

Campbell Hall High found itself at Witt’s end.

The Vikings were beaten in the Southern Section Division III volleyball semifinals by Santa Ynez, as Larry Witt delivered a career-best 33 kills in a 15-8, 15-7, 15-1 victory Wednesday night at Harvard-Westlake.

Witt, who has signed a letter of intent with Stanford, helped hand the Vikings their third semifinal loss in four years.

Witt had only five hitting errors and compiled a .443 hitting percentage for second-seeded Santa Ynez (18-3).

“I wasn’t surprised by anything [Witt] did tonight,” Campbell Hall Coach Tim Jensen said. “I was only surprised by the way we played.”

The third-seeded Vikings (17-2) were outblocked, 13-5, including 7-1 in the third game.

Campbell Hall took an 8-7 lead in the first game but never developed an offensive flow. Tanner Ragland, the Vikings’ setter, was the most consistent threat with 12 kills.

Middle blocker Larry Cole, who has committed to UCLA, had 17 kills and 12 hitting errors in 45 attempts.

The Vikings’ only other loss this season came at Harvard-Westlake, where they dropped a nonleague match against the Wolverines.

“That was maybe a factor in my head,” Cole said. “I never like playing in this gym. When I have only 17 kills, it’s not going to be a good night.”

Witt had 13 kills in the second game to help Santa Ynez, which has won the last three Division III championships, extend a 4-3 lead.

“We put the balls down when we needed to,” said the 6-foot-6 Witt, whose brother, Andy, is an All-American at Stanford.

Santa Ynez, alma mater of Pepperdine standout and NCAA player of the year George Roumain, will play top-seeded Corona del Mar in the championship match Saturday at Cypress College.