Heading into Thursday's boys volleyball competition, both San Marcos and Santa Barbara boast undefeated records and are tied for first place in the Channel League.
The Dons, fueled by the energy of the home crowd at J.R. Richards Gym, made several clutch runs to defeat the Royals in four sets, 25-20, 27-25, 20-25, 28-26.
“It was a great performance and I'm so proud of our players,” Santa Barbara coach Chad Arneson said. “We have been thinking about our team and it was a great bonding experience to bring a win like this to our group.”
The Dons came into the first set hungry and took an 8-3 lead thanks to strong early play from UCSB commit Raglan Kjaer.
San Marcos fought back to cut the lead to three points, but Santa Barbara kept them within comfortable distance and won the first set 25-20.
“We set the tone, that was the key,” Arneson said. “We didn't want San Marcos to come into our gym and tail us. We got off to a really good start and had great momentum.”
The Royals flipped the script in the second set, taking advantage of several errors by the Dons to take a 10-3 lead, prompting a Santa Barbara High School timeout.
The timeout proved to be worth it as the Dons slowly worked their way back into the match until a Royals error tied the set at 16-16.
With the score tied at 24-24, Santa Barbara's Mike Denver made a big block to give his team the lead. But San Marcos' Mason Rice responded with a strong kill to even the game.
Care then decided to take matters into his own hands and scored a powerful kill, followed by a huge block that sent the crowd into a frenzy, giving the Dons a commanding 2-0 lead.
“We got off to a slow start tonight. The first game wasn't very good, but the second game our passing was OK,” San Marcos coach Roger Kuntz said.
With their backs against the wall, the Royals got off to a strong start in the third set, taking an 8-3 lead behind Rice and Jack Wilson.
The Dons fought back again to tie the game at 17-17, giving San Marcos a chance to get the win.
But Rice and Wilson wouldn't let the Royals go away quietly. The pair totaled seven kills in the third set and closed out the set with back-to-back kills to win 25-20.
“[Rice and Wilson] They are high-level players and our pin is stronger than anyone out there right now,” Kuntz said. “These two pin hitters can play against anyone. It's great to have the Terminator on the outside when you need points and it can go their way.
“In the third, I was really proud that we were able to come back and not just give up and end up 3-0.”
The fourth and final set of the night was the closest of the night.
After San Marcos held an early 8-6 lead, the Dons went on a 7-3 run to take a 14-11 lead after a Royals service error.
After back-and-forth play, San Marcos had its back against the wall again, facing an 18-16 deficit in the fourth set.
But the Royals caught fire from there. With Aiden Welch at the service line, San Marcos reeled off six straight points to go up 22-18, mostly thanks to Rice and Wilson.
The Dons didn't run away and fought back to regain the lead at 24-23 after a Will Herman kill.
After the Royals scored two consecutive points, the visiting team took a 25-24 lead and had a chance to steal the fifth set.
But the left-handed Herman was having none of it, and tied the game at 25-25 with his game-high 21st kill of the night.
“I had a lot of lefties…and having lefties again is a weapon for us,” Arneson said. “Everyone shined and had their moments. And when our stars are ready to step into the spotlight, they definitely show up.”
After scoring for each team, Benecio Duarte of Santa Barbara High School secured his second kill of the night, giving his team a chance to win.
They did just that, securing a four-set rivalry victory on a San Marcos hitting error.
“San Marcos played well. They definitely could have been down by five points,” Arneson said. “I have a lot of faith in my boys, we're growing quickly. I'm very happy and I went into the game thinking San Marcos was going to be the team to beat based on how they played early.”
“We had a chance to go into the fifth set, but it's going to be difficult in any part of the match because we have two great teams,” Kuntz said. “This is a tough place to win, it’s tough to win here.
Herman led all players with 21 kills, while Denver finished with 10 kills and Kier eight. Chase Holdren was strong in the middle, dishing out 36 assists while also collecting seven digs.
Wilson and Rice led the Royals with 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Cameron Earls was third on the scoring list with six kills.
The Dons (4-1, 3-0 Channel League) will play in this weekend's Best of the West Tournament, while the Royals (9-2, 2-1 CL) will play on Monday. He goes on an expedition with St. Joseph.
