Pirates boys volleyball team set to begin CIF playoffs; softball team goes on three-game win streak
Santa Ynez High boasts this year’s Mountain League individual Mountain League champion after the Pirates No. 1 player Bryce Wilczak defeated Grant Vanclef of San Luis Obispo 6-3, 6-3 in the finals of the Mountain League CCAA tournament at SLOHS on April 17.
Wilczak went into the tournament only losing one match this year, which came in the Pirates’ last team match of the season. With the win, he advances to the area tournament, also at SLOHS, on Friday, May 9, where the top players from the Mountain, Sunset, and Ocean leagues will play to qualify for CIF.
As one would assume, the Mountain League final pitted two of the best players in the league in Wilczak and Vanclef, a situation Wilczak was happy with.
“Grant’s a really good player, and that really helps me stay at the top of my game,” Wilczak said during practice in late April. “I think I sometimes have difficulty, and I don’t want to come off as arrogant, when I’m ‘playing down’ against a lower-ranked player. That wasn’t the case in the league final.”
In fact, while the final match was won in straight sets, the new champion said it wasn’t easy by any means.
“I think we had about nine deuces [40-40 score] during the match and I was able to win most of those,” Wilczak said. “It was a touch and well-played match.”
Wilczak nears the end of what’s been an unusual high school career. He was actually home-schooled in his past grades while concentrating on his tennis, and started becoming a “regular” student in this, his senior year. After graduation, he plans to go to Santa Barbara City College.
“I’m going to stay near home for a couple of years and play with the tennis team there,” Wilczak said. “After that, I’m looking to go to Cal Lutheran and major in business management.”
Wilczak and the Pirates were able to earn a CIF Central Section playoff berth as a team; however, SYHS lost 5-4 to Reedley in the first round. Wilczak (6-0, 6-2) and No. 2 Cooper Haws (6-7 [7-9], 6-4, 10-7) won their singles matches and teamed for an 8-5 victory in doubles, but four singles wins by Reedley clinched the match for it side.
In other Santa Ynez High sports action:
Boys volleyball: SYHS closed its Mountain League season out with a 25-17, 25-21, 25-23 sweep over Arroyo Grande. The Pirates finished 8-0 in league for its first championship since 2017, after going 2-6 in 2024.
“I am super proud of the team effort to go from fourth last year first this year, ” said Pirates head coach Chip Fenenga.
Senior setter Manny Sanchez had 37 assists against the Eagles, while Nate Biron hammered 13 kills, Ben Stuerman added 10 and Jadon Bailey had 6.
The Pirates now enter the CIF Central Section Division II playoffs seeded eighth, and will play ninth-seeded McLane on Tuesday, May 6, at SYHS. If the Pirates win that match, then they will have a rematch against Arroyo Grande, who as the No. 1 seed has a first-round bye.
Baseball: SYHS split against Nipomo last week, defeating the Titans 9-5 at Nipomo on April 29, and then losing to NHS 9-1 on May 1 at SYHS. The Pirates stand at 4-6 in the Ocean League and 9-10 overall. SYHS will wrap up the regular season with games against Orcutt Academy on Tuesday, May 6 (away), and Thursday, May 8 (home).
Softball: The Pirates got their first win of the season April 15 with a 19-1 win over Morro Bay. Head coach Felicity Yanez credited sophomore starting pitcher Maleah Knightley for a superb outing, as she struck out a personal-high 9 strikeouts to earn the win.
The Morro Bay game started a bit of a trend, as SYHS won the next two games, 14-7 over Carpinteria on May 17, and 17-7 over Santa Maria on April 29, its first game after spring break.
The Pirates (2-7 in the Ocean League, 3-10 overall) will close out the regular season with its final home game, against Nipomo, on Tuesday, May 6, and the season finale at Morro Bay on Thursday, May 8.
Boys golf: SYHS played in the sixth Mountain League tournament on Friday, May 2, hosted by Mission College Prep at San Luis Obispo Country Club. The Pirates placed fifth of the five teams present with a 437. Templeton won the team competition with a 392.
Brayden Mlodzik was low man for SYHS with an 81, while Cody Armenta finished two shots behind him at 83. Other scores for the Pirates were Max Andrade, 88; Elijah Navarro, 92; Seb Perez, 93; and Cameron Celestin 96.
On Wednesday, April 30, SYHS defeated Cabrillo 449-488 in a non-league dual match at the par 72 Mission Club. Mlodzik had a team-low score of 83, with the other Pirates scores being Ernesto Suarez, 86; Seb Perez, 91; Cameron Celestin, 94; Elijah Navarro, 95; Max Andrade, 95; and Sebastian Jacobs, 100.
