Garner Coach of the Year, Crabbe/Lemoine Most Valuable Pair; Vaqueros Dominate All-WSC Beach Awards
SANTA BARBARA – SBCC beach volleyball head coach Ariana Garner has been named the 2022 WSC Coach of the Year, while the duo of Emma Crabbe and Kelissa Lemoine has taken home Most Valuable Pair of the Year honors and a share of the WSC Champions award.
In all, the Vaqueros claimed a whopping 40 percent of the conference awards, as three other Vaquero pairs were named to the All-WSC First Team and another made the Second Team.
Coach of the Year
Ariana Garner
Most Valuable Pair of the Year
Emma Crabbe / Kelissa Lemoine
WSC Champions Award
Emma Crabbe / Kelissa Lemoine
All-WSC First Team
Emma Crabbe / Kelissa Lemoine
Bella Johnson / Corinne Tommeraason
Jacelin McKie / Lily Krongold
Jordyn Anderson / Piper Ellbogn-Pettersen
All-WSC Second Team
Karoline Ruiz / Irey Sandholt
NEW HEIGHTS
Three years after a two-win inaugural season for the program, and following two COVID-cancelled years, SBCC has soared to new heights in meteoric fashion. In her first year at the helm, Garner coached the Vaqueros to a 14-2 record and a perfect 10-0 mark in the conference, sweeping their opponents in 10 out of 14 regular season matches. The team went on to defeat Ventura 4-1 in their first SoCal Regionals outing before falling to Orange Coast 3-2 in the next match.
However, that wouldn't be the end for the Vaqueros, who sent all six of their pairs teams to regionals as well. 3s pair Lily Krongold and Jacelin McKie advanced to the state championships, taking the No. 14 seed into a tough group stage pool. They went on to be one of four Vaquero duos named to the All-WSC First Team.
1s pair Lemoine and Crabbe – who had already won the WSC Pairs Championship – would be the lone Vaquero duo to advance to the winner's bracket at the state championships. They took the No. 7 seed into the final grueling day of competition at Irvine Valley College, eventually sweeping three of four opponents and downing West Valley 21-15, 21-18 to seal the historic win.