Results tagged “Volleyball” from Pure Preps | High School Sports in the South Bay

PHOTO BY BRAD GRAVERSON: Ashleigh Gideon, shown here in a file photo, helped El Camino sweep Fullerton in the season opener for both teams.

Two-time defending state champion El Camino College shook off some early-season jitters and rallied for a 25-19, 26-24, 27-25 nonconference women's volleyball victory Friday at Fullerton in a season opener between two top programs.

El Camino faced deficits in each game before showing the same fighting spirit that characterized its run to consecutive state titles out of the loser's bracket.

El Camino even fought off four game-points against Fullerton, which finished the season ranked No. 5 last season.

"Both teams were pretty nervous," El Camino coach Le Valley Pattison said. "We looked a little shaky in the beginning, but we steadied out. It was definitely a case of first-match nerves.

"But it was fun to fun to see the girls turn it around and win after they put themselves in big holes."

Sarah Prather (Bishop Montgomery) led El Camino with 10 kills and 13 digs, and Ashleigh Gideon (North Torrance) finished strong and totaled 10 kills and 11 digs.

Kiley Tamblyn (South Torrance) led a strong passing game with 27 digs. Deja Dickerson (St. Monica) contributed seven kills and two blocks, and Donella DiDomenico (Bishop Montgomery) was strong in her setting debut with 12 digs and 32 assists.

"We were down six or seven points each game. That was a little weird," Pattison said.  "I think we were a little tentative with our hitting. Then Sarah Prather turned it up a bit, and that allowed Ashleigh to get more into a groove and feel comfortable.

"It was a matter of adjusting to new teammates and some timing issues. The more they play together, the better they're going to be."

El Camino had to fight its way out of the consolation bracket, but the women's volleyball team captured its second straight state championship, winning three matches on Sunday at Pasadena City College.

More details to follow as they become available.

Former Mira Costa girls volleyball standout Lane Carico made waves for the University of Miami, earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference this week.

Carico, a freshman outside hitter, ranked among the conference leaders in kills and aces. She led Miami with 369 kills, which puts her among all-time Miami leaders as a freshman. She also led Miami in aces (35) and ranked second on the team in digs with 416 -- the sixth-best mark in program history. She was a two-time winner for ACC Player of the Week honors.

Lane's older sister, Taylor Carico, is a standout setter for USC, but it seems like the volleyball bloodlines run deep in the Carico family.

Mira Costa received an unexpected push from San Clemente in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs, but eventually pulled out a 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 25-19 victory on Thursday night.

Falyn Fonoimoana had 26 kills and 21 digs as Mira Costa will host the Orange Lutheran-Long Beach Poly winner in Saturday's quarterfinals at 7 p.m.

"Falyn wore them down," Mira Costa coach Lisa Zimmerman said.

Alyssa Anderson had 59 assists and 18 digs, Alex McBride had eight kills and Jackie Gardner had seven kills and seven digs for Mira Costa (25-4). Andi Zbonjniewicz added 14 digs and two aces for Mira Costa.

"My team was anxious to beat them fast," Zimmerman said. "They have to realize in the playoffs you have to play all the way through. Once we steadied out and focused on our side-out game, we were OK."

Four Marine League girls volleyball teams made the L.A. City Championship bracket.

Four-time league champion San Pedro leads the way, but the Pirates slipped to the No. 7 seed after being a perennial top-four seed the last few years. They open the first-round of the playoffs on Thursday at home against No. 26 South Gate.

Runner-up Carson followed the Pirates at the No. 8 position and will host No. 25 Huntington Park on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Third-place Narbonne earned the No. 11 seed and hosts No. 22 Bell on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Banning, which finished fourth in the league, drew a first-road road assignment at No. 9 Venice, but has a chance to play Carson in the second round.

Palisades is No. 1, Granada Hills is No. 2, Chatsworth is No. 3, Sylmar is No. 4, Van Nuys is No. 5, El Camino Real is No. 6.

The second round is Monday, followed by the quarterfinals on Nov. 13, the semifinals on Nov. 18 and the final at Roybal Learning Center on Nov. 22.

Mira Costa gets another chance on the national girls volleyball stage this weekend when it travels to the Torrey Pines Tournament, where it could face off against Long Beach Wilson and La Costa Canyon.

Mira Costa, led by junior Falyn Fonoimoana (pictured), is ranked No. 13 in the prepvolleyball.com national poll. La Costa Canyon is No. 1, and Wilson is No. 14, still feeling the effects of a narrow loss to Mira Costa in the exhibition Iolani Tournament in Hawaii.

Mira Costa should have no problem in its pool against La Jolla or Bakersfield Christian on Friday, but it gets a stern test right away on Saturday against possibly Long Beach Wilson.

"I think it will be tough," Mira Costa coach Lisa Zimmerman said after a 25-20, 29-27, 25-20 victory over Palos Verdes on Wednesday. "We don't get a lot of matches, and it's going to be intense right away on Saturday.

"Long Beach Wilson just keeps getting better, and they'll be eager to pay us back for Hawaii, even though that was just a practice tournament. And La Costa Canyon, if we get to play them, are strong and play with a nice flow. They have a nice game."

Mira Costa's  game is still developing, with junior Falyn Fonoimoana leading the way. With so many younger players on the team, Fonoimoana calls herself the "mama" or the team or the "babysitter" and said after the team has had time together to get used to playing with such a new group, the Mustangs will be quite lethal.

Sheridan Taylor and Alyssa Anderson are also strong players for Mira Costa, and Emma White is coming off a stellar effort against Palos Verdes. Erica Lau and Andi Zbojniewicz are also ones to watch.

How about the rest of the Bay League after the opening matches this week?

That's a little more up in the air. Mira Costa might be younger than normal, but its players are still the best in the South Bay.

Redondo also has a young team and appears vulnerable, though the Sea Hawks showed their mettle with a key road win at Peninsula this week. Lara Dykstra allows this team to do many different things, and never underestimate a Tommy Chaffins-coached team.

Palos Verdes appears to have the most upside. Coach Pinter Aguirre has the right blend of veterans and youngsters who have already shown they are not the doormats they have been in recent years. They beat Bishop Montgomery, North Torrance and El Segundo, have a viable setter in Madison Smith, a fearless hitter in Katie Hardy, a solid blocker in Caroline Daly and superb freshmen in Kelly Johnson and Dana Connors.

Peninsula coach Mike Jagd said this is his deepest team in his 37-year coaching history, and you have to expect the Panthers will be able to turn it around soon after losses to Torrance, South Torrance and now Redondo in the past week. Allison Lee and Amy Van Buren are a potent 1-2 punch, and the Panthers have weapons all over the court.

And don't count out West Torrance. The Warriors somehow beat South Torrance this season and might have their best team in recent years, but their first step in the Bay League was less than encouraging with a rout at the hands of Mira Costa. It will be important for West to set the tone for the rest of the year in its next Bay League match.

Talk about a stunning result.

Torrance surprised Peninsula, 25-19, 12-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-13 in a thrilling nonleague match at Torrance, giving the Pioneer League an impressive victory over its Bay League counterparts.

Katie Judd had 14 kills, 13 digs and four aces for Torrance. Chelsea Tupuola added 11 kills, 24 digs and two aces. Alyssa Bargerion had 15 digs, and Mylan Hosokawa had 23 assists and seven kills.

This establishes Torrance as a viable threat to South Torrance in the Pioneer League and takes some of the luster away from the South-Peninsula match on Thursday. Peninsula fancies itself as a Bay League contender, but it must close out matches better if it stands a shot in the ultra competitive Bay League.

It also bodes well for the Kim Blankinship Tournament on Saturday at South Torrance that features three matches: North Torrance-Palos Verdes at 3 p.m., Torrance-Bishop Montgomery at 5 p.m. and South Torrance-West Torrance at 7 p.m.

So who saw this coming?

The entire Marine League in girls volleyball talks about it being a three-team race between San Pedro, Narbonne and Carson, but it appears San Pedro and Narbonne are getting a bit of separation.

San Pedro is in control of the league title race having beat Narbonne in four games and Carson in three games so far in league play, but San Pedro and Narbonne also distinguished themselves at the Van Nuys Tournament this past weekend.

Narbonne advanced to the tournament final by beating host Van Nuys before losing to Granada Hills in the final.

San Pedro advanced to the semfinals before being bounced by the same Granada Hills team. While San Pedro has lost to both Palisades and Granada Hills, the Pirates are still a viable L.A. City Section title contender.

West Torrance took care of North Torrance in four games on Tuesday, rallying after dropping the first game.

Lindsey Walsh had another big game, but the Warriors spread it around a little more than they did in a five-game comeback over Torrance last week.

West improved to 8-2 on the season, including big victories over crosstown rivals North Torrance and Torrance of the Pioneer League.

In almost any other league, West might be considered a league favorite. Unfortunately it has to battle it out in arguably the state's toughest league with Mira Costa, Redondo, Peninsula and Palos Verdes, where even making the playoffs is a remarkable feat.

But at least they are building momentum for a run at a league playoff berth.

Facing a hostile road environment, the Mira Costa girls volleyball team held on for a 25-13, 25-22, 16-25, 16-26, 15-12 nonleague victory at Los Alamitos on Thursday, beating the Griffins for the second time in five days.

Falyn Fonoimoana had 27 kills, 13 digs, two aces and some key blocks in the fifth game for Mira Costa. Sheridan Taylor added 11 kills and five digs. Alyssa Anderson had 50 assists, four kills and nine digs, Andi Zbojniewicz added 25 digs and Alex McBride had four kills and three digs.

Anderson and Zbojniewicz served tough in the fifth game to help Mira Costa (8-2) get over the hump.

"They had a nice crowd, and to get behind and give up momentum in the middle of the match is tough," Mira Costa coach Lisa Zimmerman said. "It was a big win to pull together, to believe in each other and to make the big plays when we needed too."

For all those looking forward to the girls volleyball showdown between Redondo and South Torrance on Thursday, it looks like you'll have to wait a day.

Redondo moved the match to Friday at 4:30 p.m. to accomodate Back to School Night on Thursday.

Unfortunately this match is now competing with Friday night football, but it should still be one of the better nonleague matches of the season between two of the area's top programs.

South took fifth place in the Gahr Tournament while Redondo took ninth place, so expect an intense match. South's Jackie Landers and Redondo's Lara Dykstra are without a doubt two of the best players in the South Bay.

Powerhouse Mira Costa opens the girls volleyball season as the No. 9 team in the PrepVolleyball.com Century Club Top 100 national poll.

That means Mira Costa should be in for another banner season. The Mustangs begin their second season under Coach Lisa Zimmerman.

California earned five of the top 11 spots in the poll, including No. 2 Archbishop Mitty, No. 6 Lakewood and No. 11 Long Beach Wilson.