Dos Pueblos' Taylor Racich takes a swing during during the Chargers' CIF opener on Tuesday in Sovine Gym.
The defending CIF Division I-AA champion Dos Pueblos Chargers defeated Palos Verdes in straight sets Tuesday night, knocking the Sea Kings out of CIF contention with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-21 first-round victory.
The Chargers move on to face Santa Margarita in Thursday’s second round.
But the victory over the Sea Kings did not come so easily. Dos Pueblos had to battle more than just the opposing team in their first CIF game as several of their players were struggling with the flu.
“We had our libero and other passers missing practice yesterday due to the flu. We’ve got four or five girls on the team with the flu right now so hopefully we can get better. We had several girls on the court tonight who hadn’t played since last Thursday, so it was a rough start for us,” said head coach Todd Garrett.
“We had three of our players out yesterday with the flu so it definitely affected the game; like shoot, who’s going to be here tonight? Everyone was here tonight but they weren’t feeling well. We’re just going to have to keep playing our best,” said junior Taylor Racich.
Ciena Colburn gets ready to take a swing on a set from Tristan Racich
The flu bug didn’t end up keeping the Chargers from sweeping their first round match, however, in a victory that was especially helped by Racich.
Racich led the game in kills with 12, and was also a strong presence on the court with her three blocks and stellar jump serves.
“She’s a terrific hitter and you’ve got to be on your game blocking her if you’re going to play against a player like that,” said Palos Verdes head coach Aaron Dyer. “The thing about volleyball is that one player can make such a huge difference and a player like that, as long as she has a supporting cast, can carry a team.”
Senior Nicki Brown also played a strong game with her eight kills and two service aces, as did senior Bianca Castro with her two kills and game high of six blocks.
“They’re very impressive,” said Dyer, “I’ve seen film of them and that’s exactly what we expected. We just didn’t play as steady as they did. They’re a great defensive team, they pick everything up. I think they’ll do really well this tournament.”
The Sea Kings did not let the Chargers off easily though as the final scores of the three matches were close. Junior Kelly Johnson was a powerful force on the Palos Verdes side with one block and 11 kills.
Dos Pueblos now moves on to the second round against Santa Margarita this Thursday, and the Chargers have high hopes for the rest of the CIF season.
“I think we have a good chance of making it far as long as we keep best effort and have good practices. That will definitely show in games and it will transfer over,” said Racich.
“We expect to go all the way. That’s why we’re here,” said Garrett.
Dos Pueblos improves to 21-9 overall. Palos Verdes ends its season with a record of 16-13.
