Santa Monica Outlasts SBCC in WSC Crossover

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – The No. 7 Santa Barbara City College women's volleyball team fell to No. 6 Santa Monica College 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 14-25, 15-10) at the WSC Crossover on Friday. 

The matchup between the WSC North and WSC South champions didn't disappoint.

"We knew going into the match that this was going to be a high-level playoff-like match, and it definitely delivered that," said head coach Kat Niksto. "From the opening rally that lasted over one minute long, to the final point in the fifth set, it was a battle."

The Vaqueros and Corsairs traded sets, measuring each other up throughout the match before Santa Monica was able to hold an edge in the fifth and final set.

"You hate to walk away without the win, but I am very proud of how we played and how hard we fought," said Niksto.

Stephanie Groswirt posted a triple-double, recording 23 assists, 22 digs and 10 kills.

Bayley Padia added a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs, as did Morgan Guardado with 18 assists and 11 digs. 

Valeria Bellodas recorded 23 digs, the eighth time this season she recorded more than 20 digs in a match.

While the stats are impressive from the match, the commitment to defense stood out to the SBCC coach.

"Val played phenomenal defensively all night, while Bayley took some big swings at key moments on multiple occasions," said Niksto. "Hazel had another big night with 7 kills while hitting .500% and 7 blocks to lead the team. It was another match where we received so many contributions at different times by different players."

In that commitment to defense, Kaylin Cooney earned her 100th career block as a Vaquero.

Playoff seeding for the SoCal Regionals will be announced on Tuesday.