Santa Ynez rides high in playoff victory

Even Santa Ynez boys volleyball coach Chip Fenenga admits it “doesn't take a rocket scientist” to figure out his keys to the game, written on an easel board during pregame.

The keys to Friday's game led off with: “No. 1 Play Good Volleyball. Enthusiastic! Yea! Talk! Celebrate!”

For a man that teaches a class titled Environmental and Spatial Technology (EAST), one might figure his keys would be a little more technical.

But after seeing Santa Ynez's Jon Bridgeman slap hands with teammates, yell to the ceiling with a monster kill and pump his fist after a big block, one begins to understand the message.

San Luis Obispo was the recipient of that message, loud and clear.

Bridgeman and teammate Andrew Wolinsky provided plenty of enthusiasm and their teammates followed suit on Friday as Fenenga's Pirates swept the visiting San Luis Obispo Tigers 25-17, 25-22, 25-18 in the first round of the Division II CIF Southern Section Playoffs.

Santa Ynez next faces Laguna Hills on the road Tuesday night. Also on Friday, Laguna Hills upset El Dorado (the No. 1 team out of the Century League) in five games.

“Enthusiasm is one thing in volleyball you can really fake,” Fenenga said. “It's contagious. It's all about momentum. We tell them, ‘It's like bouncing on a trampoline. You want to bounce higher and higher.'”

The Pirates started jumping on that trampoline 16 years ago, and they haven't gotten off since. Entering the playoffs, the Pirates are coming off yet another perfect Los Padres League run. They have never dropped a league game in their existence as a program.

Fenenga did not want an early let-down in the playoffs to San Luis Obispo, a team Santa Ynez defeated earlier in the year.

“We played SLO before and we knew they were really worried about Jon (Bridgeman),” Fenenga said. “So they would stack the middle. I told our setter, if you have a perfect pass, don't go to him.”

Instead, the Pirates consistently found outside hitters Wolinsky and Zach Ulrick.

“Andrew was the engine that made us go,” Fenenga said. “Defensively, he played brilliantly And he was key in our good serving today.”

Ulrick sent the crowd into immediate “oows” and “ahhs” with his early serving, as punishing as his untouchable spikes. Santa Ynez spurted out to an early lead in Game 1 due to that serving, and then led 12-5 after Wolinsky got his chance. He served four straight points, two of them aces before San Luis Obispo called the first timeout of the day.

“Andrew played extremely well,” Fenenga said. “He seemed to cover more of the court than the other guys. There are 900 square feet out there, and he was not just in his area.”

The Tigers did respond behind Andrew Gealy's upfront work and Julian Demalleville's attacking. But Ulrick and Wolinksy were just too much in game one -combining for four late kills, including Ulrick's slam set up by Bridgeman for the final point.

With Wolinsky and Ulrick fully engaged in the attack, Bridgeman really got started in on the fun during the second game.

SLO called a timeout at 4-3, before Ulrick made one of the night's more spectacular plays.

Exiting the timeout, Ulrick dug out a laser of a shot, the ball hitting so hard off his hands that it reached a beam running along the ceiling. The set was back to him, and he scored the point.

Santa Ynez scurried out to a 15-8 lead at one point, Wolinksy twice finding Bridgeman for kills. But San Luis Obispo did fight back, getting as close as 21-20.

Greg Young served a late ace - one that just found the far corner amongst unsuspecting Tigers - and Bridgeman put home the final kill for the tightly contested win.

The third game was close throughout, but Santa Ynez only trailed early at 2-1. They held a small advantage the whole way through, and closed it out on Bridgeman's array of moves.

At 21-16, Young found Bridgeman for a huge kill, the Pirates' tallest athlete slapping hangs with teammates. He followed that up with a block and point against one of SLO's best players, Gealy.

He pumped his fist, his teammates joining in the joy of an impending win. Ulrick had the next kill, and Alex Grant the final one.

May 10, 2008