St. Paul High’s Riley Kelly (#13), right, puts one past St. Anthony High earlier this season. The Swordsmen play La Reina Tuesday for a spot in the CIF-SS Finals. (Photo by Leo Jarzomb/Whittier Daily News)
By Stephen Ramirez
St. Paul High School began the season as one of the top girls volleyball teams in the area, and the Swordsmen have lived up that billing and the pressure of being the No. 3 seed in the 4AA Division playoffs.
Now, they’ll look to add to it when they travel to No. 2 La Reina for a CIF-Southern Section semifinal match at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
St. Paul (30-6), which won the Camino Real League, have hardly been touched in the playoffs, needing just 10 sets in three victories to advance to the division final four. The Swordsmen should get a tougher challenge on Tuesday.
La Reina (28-8), which won the Tri-Valley League, also has needed just 10 sets to get to the semifinals. The Regents feature a lineup with three players with 200 kills or more, led by outside hitter Whitney Hunter, who has 230. La Reina also looks to Carolena Huseby, who has 209 kills, and Izzy Simqu, who has 200.
St. Paul, which advanced with a four-set win over Pacifica Christian, counters with Riley Kelly, who has 356, and Cheyanne Little, who has 255. Hannah Tostado has 204.
The winner faces the winner of Garden Grove-Alta Loma in the finals, either Friday or Saturday. The site, day and time will be announced on Wednesday.
2A
PALM SPRINGS AT ARCADIA, 7 P.M.
This is a battle of the upset kings, featuring the host Apaches, who beat No. 4 seed Viewpoint in four games in the quarterfinals, and the Indians, who knocked off top seed Louisville.
Arcadia (21-5), which went undefeated in winning the Pacific League, is led by Hannah Kennedy, who had 18 kills in the win over Viewpoint, and Lexi Resch, who had 17.
Palm Springs (24-5), which won Desert Valley League, counters with Asia O’Nell, who has 233 kills, and Michaela Hissam, who has 201.
The winner advances to face Troy or Windward in the finals.
4A
DESERT AT DUARTE, 7 P.M.
The No. 2 Falcons (25-8) are led by Kathy McKiernan, who has 183 kills, and Daisy Portillo, who has 145. Duarte advanced with a five-set win over Anaheim.
Desert (22-1) advanced with a sweep of Savanna.
The winner faces either Summit or Cate in the finals.
