The road to San Jose

Yes, the Laguna Beach High girls’ volleyball team does know the way to San Jose.

That road led through Glendora, Cypress and finally, out the doors of Dugger Gymnasium.

Today around noon, Coach Lance Stewart’s squad will leave campus for the Events Center at San Jose State University, where the Breakers will contend Saturday for the State CIF Volleyball Division III championship.

Laguna (29-5) has a 2 p.m. date with Northern Regional champion Campolindo of Moraga, which is making its second trip to a state final.

Laguna last reached a state final in 1992, where it lost to a Lance Stewart-coached Corona del Mar team.

The Breakers were able to get on the road and head north after surprising Santa Margarita, 25-22, 27-25, 25-22 on Tuesday in the Southern California Regional Division III championship match.

The win was surprising in that the second-seeded and host Breakers swept the No. 1-seeded Eagles before a standing-room-only crowd at Dugger Gymnasium that was treated to a dramatic, outstanding match.

Earlier in the year, Santa Margarita defeated Laguna, 3-1, in an October nonleague match.

“It sure was exciting,” Laguna Coach Lance Stewart said after his team continued its magical postseason march.

Two weeks ago, Laguna swept rival Corona del Mar, also a No. 1 seed, to win the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA championship at Cypress College.

“We’re got a lot of confidence right now and we know that we can play with anybody,” Stewart said. “The girls know that they can go out and jump on teams and handle any team they face.”

Laguna showed its fortitude Tuesday, coming back from substantial deficits in the second and third games to earn the sweep.

In the first game, the Breakers took the lead for good at 16-15 and maintained the lead until closing out a 25-22 win. The second game found Laguna trailing by as many as five points on three occasions, the last time at 14-9. They finally caught the Eagles at 16 apiece, went on to hold a two-point lead until Santa Margarita rallied to tie the score at 25, but came up with the final two points to open up a two-game lead.

The third game pretty much was a carbon copy of the second. The Breakers again trailed by five (13-8) and were down 17-13 before they rallied. They pulled to within 18-17 and went on to take a 23-20 edge before recording another 25-22 win.

“We got behind in the second and third games by five or so points but never gave up on the idea of getting that next point,” Stewart said. “The girls just fought back and when you do that, it tends to rattle the other team.

“I thought Tiffany Chen came off the bench and was just outstanding as our libero. Zoe Garrett was pretty much unstoppable up front, our setters (Mychaela Miller and Alex Palmer) were again on top of their game and outside hitters Piper Obradovich and Dana Hutchinson were just nails. Paige Obradovich also gave us several great serving runs.”

Once the match was clinched, a wild celebration ensued on the court. Hutchinson was injured in the dog pile.

“Someone fell on me,” the junior said, adding that she suffered a bruised muscle on her left leg but that she’s “totally fine.”

“It was an exciting win,” Hutchinson said. “I was really, really nervous at first because we’ve never been in a position like this before, to make a state final. We knew we could do it, though.

“I think that now that we’ve come this far, we can win this whole thing. We’re a close team and I just want this trip to be a fun experience. It’s been a fun and incredible journey so far this year.”

Hutchinson and Garrett, a senior who will play at USC next year, both point to a Nov. 14 Southern Section semifinal victory at St. Lucy’s of Glendora as the Breakers’ big confidence booster.

In that match, Laguna trailed 2-0 in games before pulling together to pull out a tough road victory.

Now, the road leads to San Jose.

“That match got us to where were are right now,” Garrett said. “I think this team has been tested so many times in so many ways, and that St. Lucy’s match was a prime example of that. That comeback brought to light for us that this team has a lot of heart and won’t give up.

“This whole ride’s been pretty shocking and tough, but we just keep winning.”

Laguna reached Tuesday’s regional final by defeating Corona del Mar last Saturday, 25-27, 25-22, 25-16, 25-16, in a semifinal match.