SANTA BARBARA – On the heels of one of its most successful seasons in recent years, the SBCC women's volleyball team landed seven members on the various All-Western State Conference teams, with Jacelin McKie also being named to the Southern California All-Region Team and taking home WSC Libero of the Year honors.
Also earning postseason accolades were All-WSC First Teamers Emma Crabbe (Vaquero Award) and Karoline Ruiz, Second Team selections Paige Rudi and Bella Johnson, and All-WSC Honorable Mentions Caroline McCarty (SBCC Coaches Award) and Lauren Holsted.
The Venice, CA native McKie was one of SBCC's most crucial defensive contributors all year long, becoming the first Vaquero since 2015 to cross the 400-dig mark (408) or to have five 20-dig performances. She is also the first member of the program to earn an All-Region selection since 2017, joining Avery Mulvey as SBCC's most recent Libero of the Year winners.
Setter
Emma Crabbe finished the year with a team-best 12 double-doubles. She set up SBCC's hitters night in and night out, leading to 750 assists, the most of any Vaquero in four years. She also took home the SBCC Vaquero Award.
Middle
Karoline Ruiz helped the Vaqueros to its highest block total in five seasons, totaling a WSC-leading 213 blocks. She led SBCC with 72 blocks and 244.5 totalk points for the year and was fourth in the WSC in kill percentage, hitting at a .320 clip.
Middle
Paige Rudi was second on the team in points (224), blocks (53), and kill percentage (.272). Joining her on the All-WSC Second Team was outside hitter
Bella Johnson, who had the highest hitting percentage (.256) among the team's outside hitters. She was also one of four Vaqueros to post more than 200 points in 2021 with 213.
Earning Honorable Mentions were opposite
Caroline McCarty and defensive specialist
Lauren Holsted. McCarty went for a team-leading 189 kills and was third with 219.5 points. She also earned the SBCC Coaches Award. Holsted racked up 145 digs and 38 aces, the latter good for second-most on the team.
The Vaqueros finished a resurgent 2021 campaign with a trip to the SoCal Regional Playoffs Second Round, making their furthest postseason run since 2016. Their seven All-Conference selections were more than double what they had in their last full season in 2019.
