San Marcos suffered a devastating blow when Chloe Allen went down with an ankle injury in the first set of Saturday’s CIF Division 1A quarterfinal girls volleyball match at Trabuco Hills.
With their UCSB-bound star on the bench, the Royals didn’t have enough firepower to stay with the division’s No. 3-seeded team and dropped a 25-17, 25-15, 25-15 decision.
“In the end, we just could not recover,” San Marcos Erica Downing said of playing without Allen, the team’s kill leader.
The Royals were in the lead when Allen went down. She returned to the court in the third set and posted a kill, giving her four in the match.
Dani Dusebout played in Allen’s spot “and did a great job for us,” said Downing.
The coach also praised Gabi Peoples. “Gabi Peoples stepped up and set and hit for us. She is such a great all-around player.”
Jenna MacFarlane led the Royals with 7 kills, Kamille Williams had five and Gabi Peoples three. Cassidy Drury-Pullen had nine digs
“It was an unfortunate end to our season,” Downing said. “We had a great season and we were excited to see how far we could go. We have been playing the best volleyball all season. It’s such a great group of girls. We are all sad the season had to end.”
