Duarte girls volleyball hoping to ride momentum to a Division 4A championship Friday against Cate

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What: CIF-SS Division 4A girls volleyball championship
Where: Cerritos College, 5 p.m.
Who: Duarte vs. Cate
Preview: Duarte High School has had to scramble in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4A girls volleyball playoffs. Cate of Carpinteria has had a relatively easy time.
The top two seeds of the tournament enter Friday 5 p.m., championship match at Cerritos College on very divergent paths.
“I know we’re capable of beating Cate,” Duarte coach Irene Sunabe said.
The second seeded Falcons (26-8) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Anaheim in five games in the quarterfinals and then rallied from two games down to defeat Desert in five games in the semifinals on Tuesday. Duarte also played a five-game Montview League match against Azusa, also a victory.
Cate has not even got to four games this season. The Rams (22-1) have won every one of their non-tournament matches without dropping a game. That is a 48-game run. Their lone loss was in the semifinals of their own tournament, 2-1, to Laguna Blanca.


SEMIFINALS COVERAGE
“Unbelievable that we’re going to the championship,” an elated Duarte coach Irene Sunabe said. “Our fans never gave up and I’m so proud of our school and our community. It’s a great feeling.”

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In the biggest match in the history of Duarte High School, the girls volleyball team completed a miraculous come-from-behind five-set victory in the CIF Southern Section Division 4A semifinals Tuesday night before a packed gym.
The second-ranked Falcons, trailing 2-0, won the final three sets and defeated visiting Desert High from Edwards Ari Force Base 15-25, 27-29, 25-23, 27-25, 15-11 and will make their first-ever appearance in the title match Friday or Saturday at either Cerritos or Fullerton College against top-ranked Cate (22-1) of Carpinteria.
The young Duarte (26-8) team could have folded after a tough second-set loss to the third-ranked Scorpions, but fought off a slow start in the third set. Trailing 13-6, the Falcons came all the way back by outscoring Desert 19-12, and seemed to take control at that point in the match.

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