The Santa Barbara Dons will venture away from home to face off against the Oxnard Yellowjackets at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Tuesday, Santa Barbara made easy work of Rio Mesa and carried off a 3-0 win.
Santa Barbara not only won, but also showed off some consistency: they kept Rio Mesa between 14 and 17 points across their sets. The final score came out to 25-14, 25-17, 25-15.
Jules Horton
| 09/30/25 @ Rio Mesa | 28 |
| 09/27/25 vs Yorba Linda | 39 |
| 09/27/25 vs Mission College Prep | 33 |
| 09/26/25 vs Dos Pueblos | 28 |
| 09/26/25 vs Clovis East | 26 |
| + 5 more games |
Santa Barbara relied on the efforts of Jules Horton, who had eight digs and three aces, and Paylin Marcillac, who had 19 digs and two aces. Horton is also on a roll when it comes to assists, as she's now posted 22 or more in each of the last ten games she's played.
Meanwhile, Oxnard earned a 3-1 victory over Pacifica on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Yellowjackets.
Oxnard was especially dominant in the fourth set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-19, 25-17, 17-25, 25-15.
The win got Santa Barbara back to even at 13-13. As for Oxnard, their record is now 11-15.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday's matchup: Santa Barbara has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 7.7 aces per game. However, it's not like Oxnard struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.3 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Santa Barbara was able to grind out a solid victory over Oxnard in their previous meeting back in September, winning 3-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Dons since the squad won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
