SBCC Men’s Volleyball standout Luke Steinert collected the school’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year award to headline the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Press Luncheon on Monday at Harry’s Plaza Cafe.
While Steinert was honored to begin the luncheon, a number of local high school sports teams provided updates on their spring seasons as the calendar creeps towards May.
The weekly SBART luncheon is presented by Maho Prentice LLP, Investec and Fidelity National Title Group Santa Barbara.
Luke Steinert Named SBCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Steinert’s success on and off the court during his time as a Vaquero resulted in him being named the Santa Barbara City College Scholar-Athlete of the Year for this school year.
“Luke has been an integral part of our program’s success for the past two seasons,” SBCC Men’s Volleyball head coach Bridget Kulesh said. “Luke is one of our captains and has fully embraced this role. As a libero, he’s responsible for the first touch and serves as the general of our back court.
“He’s not always in the most visible leadership position. He’s not the setter running the offense or the hitter earning the spotlight. But both of those roles depend on the consistency and reliability of the libero.”
The libero boasts an impressive 4.0 GPA and will be attending UCSB in the fall. He also excels on the court, as he finished last season with 158 total digs, good for fourth-most all-time. He has already passed that mark this season.
“Luke leads through his composure in high-pressure situations, his commitment to holding both himself and his teammates to a high standard, and his ability to bring energy and clarity when our team needs it most, even delivering the occasional inspirational speech during timeouts,” Kulesh said.
Steinert’s individual success has played a key role in the SBCC Men’s Volleyball program’s historic success in recent years. In fact, the Vaqueros captured the WSC North championship this season for the first time since 2005 and the team’s 19 wins is the most since 1990.
“As we head back to the State semifinals this Thursday, Luke stands out as one of the hungriest and most driven players on the court,” Kulesh said. “I’m incredibly excited to see him compete and hopefully we come back with a state championship.”
Steinert is the ninth of 11 Scholar-Athletes of the Year for this school year, joining Dos Pueblos’ Elliot McGuire, Laguna Blanca’s Bennett Sullivan, Providence’s Annika Haugen, Bishop Diego’s Jaymi Coronado, Carpinteria High’s Vivian Huskins, San Marcos’ Rio Chesluk, Santa Barbara High’s Dane Polchin and Cate’s Jae Wykoff.
The award is sponsored by Marc Gamberdella of the Gamberdella-Spruill Group of Merrill Lynch.
“I just wanted to say thank you for this award,” Steinert said. “I wanted to shout out my coaches, teammates, my dad and the whole SBCC faculty. I wouldn’t be here without you guys.”
High School Girls Beach Volleyball Playoffs Kick Off
The Santa Barbara area schools had another successful spring on the beach volleyball courts, as all five local teams punched their tickets to the CIF-SS playoffs.
While the Channel League champion San Marcos Royals lead the way as the No. 4 seed in Division 1, all five squads will begin their quests for CIF-SS titles this week.
The Royals have had a particularly special season, as the team boasted 16 seniors with seven furthering their volleyball careers at the collegiate level. San Marcos went 23-2 in the regular season with its lone losses coming to Mira Costa and Redondo Union, the top two teams in the CIF Southern Section.
“It has been a lot of fun to have 16 seniors on the team, and it’s been fun to watch them through the season,” San Marcos head coach Tim Loomer said. “I was worried a little bit about senioritis when you have that much senior leadership, but they’ve been really locked in and competitive the whole season.”
Here is the first-round schedule:
Tuesday, April 21
- Downey @ Dos Pueblos, 3 p.m. (D3 Round 1)
- Costa Mesa @ Bishop Diego, 3 p.m. (D4 Round 1)
- Laguna Blanca @ Norco, 3 p.m. (D4 Round 1)
Wednesday, April 22
- Santa Barbara @ Bishop Montgomery, 3 p.m. (D2 Round 1)
Thursday, April 23
- Los Alamitos @ San Marcos, 3 p.m. (D1 Round 1)
Student-Athletes in Attendance
SBCC Men’s Volleyball: Luke Steinert
Santa Barbara High Baseball: James King, Jack Paskin
San Marcos Softball: Solana Sandoval, Reese Large, Jess Vega, Cece Contreras
Carpinteria High Softball: Jamaica Cook, Sophia Santana
Carpinteria High Baseball: Dallas Bartholic, Jonah Hernandez
Carpinteria High Boys Tennis: Hayden Nordholm, Kamran Dadvar
San Marcos Girls Beach Volleyball: Cora Loomer, Evyn Miller
Santa Barbara High Boys Golf: Alex Ortega, Tyler Satterberg
Dos Pueblos Track & Field: Cullen Gully
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