No. 13 Golden West Upsets No. 4 Santa Barbara

GOLETA, Calif. – A tremendous season for the Santa Barbara City College women's volleyball team came to an end on Tuesday, as No. 13 Golden West stunned the No. 4 Vaqueros, 3-1 (25-21, 12-25, 25-17, 26-24) at Robertson Gym on UCSB.

Valeria Bellodas posted a season-high 31 digs, good enough for second in her SBCC career.

Stephanie Groswirt – who was selected as an All-Southern California player – finished with another double-double, recording 12 kills, 21 assists and 8 digs.

Kaylin Cooney paced the offensive effort with 14 kills, while Sarah Guzman had a team-high 6 blocks. 

Bayley Padia added 10 kills and 9 digs, as she finished the year as the team leader in kills with 222 and points per set with 3.5.

Morgan Guardado led the Vaqs' effort with 22 assists, and added a pair of aces to extend her team lead in that service category to 50. 

The Vaqueros can take pride in their improved performance in all aspects of the game. 

This season, they improved their hitting percentage to .215 compared to last year's .182. It was the best team hitting percentage since 2016, when SBCC posted an impressive .259.

The defensive effort showed a substantial improvement in the metrics, increasing from 13.28 digs per set last season to 17.86 this year – the best mark in the record books since at least 2012.

While there are several crucial sophomores, poised to move to the next level – such as Padia, Bellodas, Cooney and Chaya Clemons – the Vaqueros have a deep group of freshmen ready to improve on the work they did this year.