Los Amigos girls’ volleyball falls to Channel Islands in long-awaited playoff appearance
Results came secondary for the Los Amigos girls’ volleyball program Tuesday, which was participating in its first postseason match in recent memory.
The Lobos were rewarded with the chance to play in front of their home crowd, a prospect they were excited about from the moment they found out about their qualification as the third-place team in the Garden Grove League.
“Our coach [Valerie Herndon] messaged us the morning of Saturday,” junior middle blocker Sophia Sotelo said. “I was screaming. I was very, very loud to my mom, and very excited.”
Los Amigos put up a fight late, but it fell short to visiting Oxnard Channel Islands 25-18, 25-8, 25-23 in the wildcard round of the CIF Southern Section Division 8 girls’ volleyball playoffs.
Sotelo had a team-high five kills for Los Amigos (8-9), which moved on from a stint of shaky play in the second set to play better defense in the third set. Junior libero Vy Ngo helped coordinate the team’s passing, allowing the Lobos to send the ball back over the net and forcing Channel Islands (8-7) to execute offensively.
Junior defensive specialist Mandy Le had three service aces and two kills for the Lobos. Sophomore outside hitter Catalina Guardado had two kills and an ace, and senior outside hitter Natalie Tagle also recorded an ace.
A three-game winning streak to close out the regular season was largely responsible for getting Los Amigos into the playoffs. The Lobos earned five-set wins over Loara and Bolsa Grande, both of which they lost to in straight sets in the first half of Garden Grove League play.
“I think just knowing that we made it to CIF is such a big difference,” said senior setter Ariel Lagunas, who had seven assists. “It’s a big accomplishment, knowing for Los Amigos we haven’t made CIF in a really long time.”
Channel Islands played through the tandem of setter Jasmin Olguin and outside hitter Bea Cerezo. The latter used her vertical leap to great effect, teammates looking for her often at the left pin.
Twenty kills and six aces came off the right hand of Cerezo, whom Channel Islands coach Tiarah Umu referred to as a not-so-secret weapon.
“She’s the most dominant player,” Umu said of Cerezo. “It’s not a secret. We don’t try to hide it. We just try to utilize her as much as possible.”
Olguin finished with 24 assists and four aces. Rubi Villa added four aces, and Cecilia Vallejo and Leslie Segura each had three kills.
The Raiders had support from some traveling members of their student body, who let their voices be heard from the bleachers.
“When the crowd is loud, it really motivates me to play for them,” Cerezo commented on the Raiders’ fans joining them on the road.
Also in the CIF Southern Section girls’ volleyball playoffs:
Costa Mesa 3, Santa Monica St. Monica Prep 0: Junior outside hitter Aubrey Spallone had 11 kills and 13 digs to lead the Mustangs to a 25-14, 25-21, 25-17 win in a Division 6 wildcard round match on Tuesday at home.
Sophomore middle blocker Lucca Miller had six kills and two blocks for Costa Mesa (19-6), which will travel to take on Arrowhead League champion Rancho Cucamonga United Christian Academy (21-5) on Thursday in the first round of the main draw.
Senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Yagerlener added five kills and two blocks for the Mustangs, who were the third-place team in the Orange Coast League this season.
El Monte Mountain View 3, Newport Christian 1: The host Seahawks fell to the Vikings 25-12, 25-8, 23-25, 25-17 on Tuesday in a Division 9 wildcard round match.
Newport Christian (15-4), which was the third-place team in the Express League, had won five of its past six matches.
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