Vaqueros Split after Sweep, Tight Loss to Finish Non-conference Play

By Jimmy Friery

SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara City College Women's Beach Volleyball team split their Friday matchups at East Beach, beating Mt. San Jacinto before a tight loss to Mt. San Antonio (Mt. SAC).

"Today was a battle for the lady vaqueros," head coach Ariana Garner said. "We played two strong teams who are going to only continue getting better as the season goes on. Although the last outcome was not what we wanted, I am proud of our fight today as a team. With two new pairs, our girls stayed positive and uplighting in their partnerships for both matches."

The Vaqueros won all 5 pairings in the early match, thus sweeping Mt. San Jacinto 5-0.

Olivia Medina and Ashley Rossi spearheaded the victory, cruising to a 2-set win (21-6, 21-8) as the 1s duo. The top Vaqueros pair finished the day with a perfect 8-0 start to the season, only losing 1 set in that span.

"I thought we played really well together as a team," Medina said. "Our first ball contact made the game so much easier because we were able to set each other in system a lot."

"Our standout performances today were Olivia and Ashley," Garner added. "They played some truly amazing volleyball. They communicated well together and took a lot of risks, trying to implant new game strategies and schemes. These two are just so fun to watch."

Charlotte Wilson and Carolina Koceman moved up to the 2s pair on the day. They won against Mt. San Jacinto in 2 tight sets, preventing a fervent Mt. San Jacinto comeback in the second set. Up 20-16, their opponents went on a 5-0 run to 20-21, but the SBCC pair stopped the momentum and ended up with a 24-22 win.

Alexis Zevenbergen and Nevaeh Tillet were paired together for the first time and began their day with a 2-set win (21-13, 21-17) as the 3s pair.

As the 4s pair, Celia Espinoza and Carly Hanna moved up a spot and dominated to the tune of a 21-12, 21-8 victory.

On the 5s court, Jillian Zimmerman and Vanessa Cabeza finished the perfect 5 for 5—all in 2 sets—with a competitive 21-18, 21-17 win.

The second match against Mt. San Antonio was a tougher task for the Vaqueros, who remained undefeated against their 3C2A competitors (6-0) up to that point.

The Medina/Rossi pairing continued to be unstoppable, dominating to a 21-10, 21-13 win.

On the 3s court, Zevenbergen/Tillet were down 8-1 in the first set but came all the way back to 17-16, before succumbing 21-17. The second set would result in the same score.

The Vaqueros 5s pair, Zimmerman/Cabeza, fell in a similarly competitive match 21-17, 21-15, and suddenly the Vaqueros had their backs against the wall down 2-1.

Espinoza/Hanna kept the Vaqueros alive on the 4s court, winning 21-17, 21-16. The pair improved their personal record to 6-2 together after the 2 wins on Friday.

"Carly and Celia were our 4s pair for the first time today and played so well," Garner said proudly. "They brought up their intensity as a pair and really trusted each other, listening to each other's calls and executing. They passed nails in serve receive and were aggressive on the service line. It was really great to see these two push themselves today and get better as a pair."

Now 2-2, all the attention shifted to the 2s court, where Wilson/Koceman were going to a decisive third set that would also decide the match between the teams. It was tight early on with Mt. SAC leading 8-7, but eventually the Vaqueros ran out of gas, dropping the set 15-9. The loss to Mt. SAC would be the Vaqueros first loss against 3C2A opponents this season.

SBCC (6-2) has two weekends off before beginning conference play at Bakersfield on March 15 against Santa Monica and Bakersfield. The following weekend, the Vaqueros are back at East Beach to host Cuesta and Glendale.

Match 1: SBCC vs. Mt. San Jacinto (5-0 W)

1s: Olivia Medina/Ashley Rossi (SBCC) def. Gajda/Conklin (MSJ) 21-6, 21-8
2s: Charlotte Wilson/Carolina Koceman (SBCC) def. Thomas/Springer (MSJ) 21-19, 24-22
3s: Alexis Zevenbergen/Nevaeh Tillet (SBCC) def. Kruse/Vincelli (MSJ) 21-13, 21-17
4s: Celia Espinoza/Carly Hanna (SBCC) def. Jimenez/Commings (MSJ) 21-12, 21-8
5s: Jillian Zimmerman/Vanessa Cabeza (SBCC) def. Blanchard/Ayala (MSJ) 21-18, 21-17

Match 2: SBCC vs. Mt. San Antonio (3-2 L)

1s: Olivia Medina/Ashley Rossi (SBCC) def. Ortiz/Salmon (Mt. SAC) 21-10, 21-13
2s: Ceballos/Griego (Mt. SAC) def. Charlotte Wilson/Carolina Koceman (SBCC) 12-21, 21-18, 15-9
3s: Brewer/Green (Mt. SAC) def. Alexis Zevenbergen/Nevaeh Tillet (SBCC) 21-17, 21-17
4s: Celia Espinoza/Carly Hanna (SBCC) def. Miller/Ortega (Mt. SAC) 21-17, 21-16
5s: Lei/Beccerra (Mt. SAC) def. Jillian Zimmerman/Vanessa Cabeza (SBCC) 21-17, 21-15