CYPRESS – Laguna Blanca ran into an opponent that was on fire Saturday night in the CIF Division IV-AA final and the Owls didn’t have an extinguisher to cool it off.
Whittier Christian unleashed all of the firepower in its arsenal and romped to an impressive 25-20, 25-17, 25-21 championship victory at Cypress College.
The Heralds (28-3) kept the pressure on all match long with tough serving, powerful hitting and timely blocking and never allowed Laguna Blanca to get into a rhythm.
“We hadn’t seen a team that good all year,” Laguna Blanca coach Jim Alzina said. “Every single serve was tougher than we’ve seen all year and their passing was incredible, so they made us play that way by playing so good. That was an unbelievable team.”
The title completed a goal the Heralds set on their first day of practice. They lost in the finals last year.
“This was our goal three months ago when we started the year,” Whittier Christian coach Shawn Hunter said. “I knew we could get back here. It’s exciting to be here right now.”
The Owls were excited to be back in the final for the first time since 2007, but their excitement turned to frustration as they were unable to get untracked until midway through the third game.
“I told them to remain calm, don’t worry about the last play, only worry about the things we can control,” said Alzina of what he told his players during timeouts.
Jackie Harvey goes up for a kill (Michael Ditmore photo)
Alzina said the fact Whittier Christian had experience of playing in a final gave them an advantage. It also helped that the Heralds had a large contingent of raucous fans rooting them on.
“It was pretty much a home game for them. They had the fire right from the get-go,” Alzina said.
“They came in and they looked really comfortable,” he added. “That was just a heck of a team. They played nearly flawless volleyball.”
Hannah Nabbout, a 5-11 junior, and 6-1 freshman Joy Miley were nearly unstoppable on the outside, banging 11 and eight kills, respectively. Six-foot senior Rebecca Shafer was a force in the middle with six solo blocks and senior libero Emily Atwood picked up nine digs.
“They just played amazing,” said senior Jackie Harvey, who was Laguna’s most potent player on the floor with 12 kills. “We honestly couldn’t top them. Their serves were tough. We served tough and they just passes perfectly to their setter every time.”
Stephanie Sinohui’s blistering jump serves caused the Owls trouble all night. She finished with four aces. Her first ace gave the Heralds a 17-15 lead in the first set.. They would build the lead to 23-18 after Laguna let a free ball drop to the floor and a big blast by Milney off a block.
The deciding point of the set came on another Laguna mistake – a held ball after a block.
Things didn’t get better in the second set for the Owls as Whittier Christian rolled out to a 7-3 lead. Sinohui went on serving tear again to open up a 17-9 advantage.
The Owls gave up the first two points in the third set, but they started to come around and get into system. Jessie Ditmore put a couple balls down in the middle and Harvey ripped an overpass to pull them to within one at 18-17.
“We were rolling there pretty good, then they came right back at us,” said Alzina.
“We realized this is it,” Harvey said about the team’s improved play in the third game. “We had nothing to lose. We just had to go fight our hardest, and they they still beat us.”
Whittier Christian got three kills from Nabbout down the stretch and the Heralds finished the match with a nice dig by Atwood and a kill off the block by Erin White.
It was only the second loss of the year for the Owls, who went 21-2.
“Anytime we can do that that’s awesome,” Alzina said of what his team accomplished this season. “I told the girls, ‘Look at where we were on the first day of August when we showed up at the gym and look where we are now.’ We were the sixth seed and we made it to the final. We played an incredible team, and I look at how much better we got over the course of the season and how much closer the girls came together.
“I don’t think anybody was going to beat that team tonight,” he continued. “They were the No. 1 team from Day 1 this season and everyone I talked to said they’re incredible. I don’t think they’re beatable and they proved it this season.”
