Pacifica Christian girls’ volleyball outlasts Costa Mesa
Chara Wondercheck certainly had limitations as the Pacifica Christian Orange County girls’ volleyball team took the court on Thursday, but that did not extend to her desire to help the Tritons.
Unable to take swings or serve with her dominant right hand, the senior outside hitter still impacted the contest with key digs in the fifth set.
Pacifica Christian got into the win column for the first time this season, as the Tritons rallied for a 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-8 victory at Costa Mesa in a nonleague match.
“She’s doing what she can without swinging and inflaming her shoulder,” Pacifica Christian coach Ron Cheser said of Wondercheck. “It was inflamed, and that inflammation has to go down. When that happens, … we’ll just ease her back in. What’s nice is it happened now and not midseason, so hopefully by the second part of league, she’s full-steam ready to go, and our big gun outside hitter can help carry us.”
There is opportunity to be had with Pacifica Christian (1-1) searching for effective lineup combinations. Sending senior Kaelin Rieke from the middle to the left pin was a winning move against the Mustangs.
Rieke produced a match-best 18 kills to go with three total blocks and two service aces.
“I’ve been playing middle for the last three years, so when [Cheser] put me outside, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever played outside in a game,” the 6-foot Rieke said. “I just had the mindset going into it, ‘I’m just going to do my best and swing hard.’ That’s what I did, and [we] came out on top.”
Junior setter Addie Robertson dished out 38 assists, adding eight aces, 4½ blocks and three kills. Rieke remarked she was “pretty pumped” by Robertson’s presence on the block.
Junior outside hitter Emma Hartman had eight kills and a team-leading 16 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Sierra Leeper added seven kills. Senior middle blocker Gia Gale provided four block assists, junior opposite Sophia Bone had 1½ total blocks, and senior libero Charlotte Carlson dropped in two aces.
The Pacifica Christian coaching staff largely took a hands-off approach during timeouts, leaving the players to problem solve in the huddle.
“There’s only so much [Cheser] can say, and then we have to take it upon ourselves to go out and do it,” Robertson said.
Pacifica Christian fell in straight sets at home against Palm Desert in its season opener on Tuesday.
“We definitely needed this win to remember what it felt like,” Cheser said.
With one senior in the rotation, first-year head coach Jacob Lee is in a player development state of mind as he takes over the girls’ volleyball program at Costa Mesa (1-1).
“Coming into this season, we are making more of a focus on the fundamentals of the game because that’s what we need to work on the most,” said Lee, who was an assistant under the Mustangs’ prior head coach in Jillian Rifkin. “We spend a lot of time working on that stuff, but we try to make practices harder than game-time situations.”
Senior outside hitter Aubrey Spallone had 15 kills to go with 21 digs and four aces for the Mustangs, who swept visiting Bolsa Grande in the opener on Tuesday. Sophomore outside hitter Gracie Glass added 13 kills, 23 digs and five aces.
Junior setter Brooke Mehanna distributed 34 assists, adding 12 digs and three aces. Junior middle blocker Gaby Barragan had 2½ total blocks, and junior opposite Abby Pham tallied three block assists.
“Towards the end, we just were not putting balls away when we needed to,” Lee said. “It’s a thing that it just takes time to understand. I am super proud of how they performed.”
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