LOMA LINDA, CA – Saddleback Valley Christian, the eventual Southern Section Division 3-A girls’ volleyball champion, escaped a huge challenge in the semifinals from an unlucky Loma Linda Academy side.
Momentum is always a factor in volleyball.
In fact, SVC’s sophomore opposite side hitter, Lily Dyer, who noticed her team shifting momentum in a game four loss to LLA.
“Momentum,” she said, quoting literary works, “can change on a dime – and that’s what happened here tonight.”
Tonight was a Tuesday, Nov. 17.
Host Loma Linda was looking to unload on its visitors, defending division champions but having lost a deluge of talent to graduation.
Trailing 2-1 in games, LLA unloaded on SVC when Audrey Uyemara opened with four straight aces. Demari Webb cracked off a couple handfuls of momentum-killing attacks. Madison Field kept coming up with big plays in hopes of leading LLA into its first-ever Southern Section finals.
Dyer, however, seemed to be playing mean in a 25-19, 19-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11 SVC triumph over the Lady Roadrunners.
Before she starts any match, Dyer comes up with a word to describe how she’ll hopefully play. It wasn’t mean. “Tonight’s word was fire.”
There was firepower coming from both sides – hitting from Webb (19 kills) and Kaitlyn O’Brien (11 kills) from LLA with Dyer (19 kills, 3 blocks) and 6-foot-4 middle blocker Shannon Geraty (11 kills, 4 blocks) countering.
“We thrive on fifth games,” said Dyer.
LLA, which made a few critical mistakes, kept countering SVC’s attacks with plenty of heads-up defense.
“Their digs,” said Dyer, “were awesome, almost unbelievable. We really had to adjust to that.”
LLA was offering up a serious threat to SVC’s hopes at repeating as division champs. “One of the things we do well,” said Dyer, “is to get serious in tough situations.”
Momentum actually starting building for SVC in a fourth game – won by LLA, which took a 16-5 lead. But the Lady Warriors closed to within a 24-22 with a furious rally before losing the game on, of all things, Dyer’s errant attack.
It might’ve been impossible to determine that LLA’s overall record, 23-4, was that much better than SVC’s 20-8 mark coming into the showdown.
SVC had played a worthwhile schedule – losing twice against Div. 1A third-ranked Trabuco Hills-Mission Viejo and dropping one to No. 4 Mayfield-Pasadena while knocking off second-ranked St. Margaret’s (Div. 3-AA) in a battle of San Juan Capistrano private schools.
LLA, meanwhile, was coming from a rabid Ambassador League chase won by area powerhouse Woodcrest Christian-Riverside (2 losses there), plus an assortment of past and present Southern Section powers that included Aquinas-San Bernardino and Arrowhead Christian Academy-Redlands.
While LLA would throw a power-packed hitting package against the Lady Warriors, SVC could counter with Geraty and 5-10 Sammy Lund in the middle.
LLA senior setter Kayla Redfield, an area Athlete of the Week in the county newspaper, did her best to avoid SVC’s blocking crew.
She found Hannah McKee, Morgan Hall, Webb, Field and Dakota Hall, each coming up with key strokes.
Field delivered a crucial service ace to cut SVC’s lead to 11-8. A net violation against SVC made it 11-9, but LLA errors kept lifting the Lady Warriors to match point, 14-10.
McKee and Webb blocked a shot at the net (14-11) before McKee sent a shot out of bounds for the clincher.
In the end, it was Dyer who made the difference.
“You start coming back one point at a time,” she said.
Referring to momentum, she went to the literary circles presumably taught at the private school campus. “It’s a cruel mistress,” she said, “that can turn on a dime at any moment.”
One match later, SVC had another Southern Section title – beating in a five-game finale that was 15-12 to determine the champion.
From the San Bernardino and Riverside county digs:
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Division 1-AA – Heavyweight Great Oak-Temecula, ranked nationally during the season, fell in the semifinals to another powerful side, eventual divisin champ Mater Dei-Santa Ana.
Division 1-A – There could’ve been an All-Inland Empire finals if second-seeded Santiago-Corona could’ve beaten No. 3 Trabuco Hills-Mission Viejo while top-seeded Rancho Cucamonga was upset by Valencia. It left an all-Orange County finals.
Division 2-A – Serrano-Phelan nearly got its season-long wish – a finals showdown against top-seeded Louisville-Woodland Hills. But the second-seeded Lady Diamondbacks lost in the semifinals to Sierra Canyon.
Division 3-AA – Somehow, Valley View-Moreno Valley shot its way past No. 1 seeded Elsinore, then stopped giant-killer Quartz Hill (which knocked Sage Hill) to square up with unseeded Santa Monica for the Southern Section championship.
In Norwalk on Nov. 20 at Cerritos College, the Eagles pulled off a 21-25, 26-28, 25-21, 25-23, 15-12 triumph. Valley View setter Camryn Purdom (46 assists, 15 digs, 10 kills) set up Michele Mendizabal (23 kills) and Martha Epenesa with middle blocker Kennedy Hill adding a huge contribution with 5 kills and a block in that pivotal third game.
Division 4-AA – Second-seeded Alta Loma outlasted all-comers to nail down a spot in the championship against fourth-seeded Laguna Beach, which wound up beating the Braves in a heartbreaking five-game showdown.
Division 4-A – Summit-Fontana scored a four-game upset over No. 1 seeded Carpinteria-Cate to forge a showdown against second-seeded Desert-Edwards Air Force Base. In the end, Desert won in a three-game sweep.
Division 5-AA – Upland Christian made another lengthy playoff run, reaching the championship game against Santa Clarita Christian in a No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown finale. In this case No. 2 Upland prevailed, 25-21, 16-25, 25-12, 25-14.
