By Nathan Cambridge and Sebastian Moore
Before matching up for the first time this season in girls’ volleyball, both La Cañada and San Marino High had stepped away to participate in a tournament: the Durango Fall Classic for the Spartans and a tournament at Crescenta Valley High for the Titans. But now it was time to get back to Rio Hondo League play for both squads as La Cañada hosted San Marino.
On the court, the host Spartans got production from up and down the lineup and swept San Marino, 25-15, 25-13, 25-10, inside the Hotchkin Family Gymnasium on Sept. 26 in Rio Hondo League play.
“I just love seeing my team have fun together,” La Cañada coach Laura Browder said. “We just got back from Vegas, so it’s nice to come back and get back into the league swing of things.”
Despite the outcome, San Marino head coach Angel Ramirez liked what he saw from his squad.
“I wanted my team to compete regardless of the result,” Ramirez said. “I asked them to do a couple things, a couple changes. They tried to their best ability. We played a little bit timidly on the offensive side, then they started to take swings when the opportunity was there. That’s all I could ask for, for them to make the changes, try to do what the coaching staff were asking for and try to be as competitive as possible.”
San Marino (12-15 overall, 1-3 in league) was led in the attack by sophomore Audrey Hoffman with six kills. Senior Tessa Kackstetter had five kills, as did sophomore Sydney Park. Junior Chloe Wang and senior Malia Yu each recorded two kills. Wang also had 14 assists against La Cañada.
The Titan defense did its best to stand up to the wealth of Spartan firepower led by senior Aubrey Wendling’s 11 digs. Park also got to double digits with 10 digs, while Wang and Yu tallied eight apiece. Sophomore Maddy Tang had four digs.
The Titans jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening game starting with a kill by Hoffman before the hosts tied it with a kill and then an ace from senior Haley Clark. The final lead of the game for the visitors came at 3-2 off a kill by Kackstetter, but that was followed by a kill from the outside by freshman Maya Purdy and an ace by Chloe Nussbaum, after which the Spartans stayed in front the rest of the way. A kill by Clark from the outside on a tip shot brought up the first game point, but Park prolonged the opener with a kill from the outside. However, the ensuing Titan serve sailed long, giving the hosts the 25-15 win in game one.
Game two started with a kill in the middle from Vani Tatoulian, set up by a play earlier in the opening rally that saw Nussbaum stick out a leg to make a dig. Yu tied the game at 1-1 on a kill from the outside, but that was the last tie of the second game as Clark got a kill for the next point and the Spartans stayed ahead after that.
La Cañada jumped out in game three, scoring the first four points. Irelyn Fung struck first with a kill from the outside, followed by a block by Tatoulian and then consecutive aces from Clark. San Marino’s final point came on a kill from the outside by Park to make it 22-10. La Cañada then finished the match with a kill from the middle by Emma Reed followed by a pair of aces by Ashby Zubchevich to seal the match win in a sweep.
“We are going to keep fighting. We are going to use this game to our advantage as leverage when we play lower-level teams,” Ramirez said.
La Cañada got eight kills from Purdy, who also had two aces. Reed and Tatoulian each recorded seven kills, as did Clark, who also had three aces. Zubchevich had five kills and two aces. Fung and Luella Lewis each had three kills. Nussbaum and Danica Eggleston each had one kill, also with one and two aces respectively. Tatum Purdy and Ella Landa each had an ace.
The Titans will visit Monrovia for a league match on Oct. 5 at 5:30 p.m. before hosting La Cañada for a rematch on Oct. 9. SMHS will conclude the regular season with a league match at Temple City on Oct. 10.
GABRIELINO TOURNAMENT
The Titans competed in the Gabrielino Tournament on Sept. 30 and finished with a 2-2 record after losing their Gold Bracket playoff opener against Schurr High of Montebello, 19-25.
Park registered 11 digs, two kills and two aces, while Wang produced five digs, four assists and two blocks. Hoffman contributed three digs, two kills and one ace, Wendling finished with five digs, and sophomore Daniela Levy recorded three digs and one ace. Junior Kailey Woo chipped in four digs, Tang tallied two blocks and one dig, and senior Katelyn Li was credited with two digs. Senior Mira Emamaullee notched one assist and one dig, while Kackstetter had one kill.
San Marino was swept by Gahr High of Cerritos, 12-25, 23-25, to finish tournament pool play on Sept. 30.
Yu racked up 17 digs and six kills, Wendling contributed 13 digs and one assist, and Wang produced 12 assists, three digs and two kills. Kackstetter finished with four kills, three blocks and three digs, while Hoffman tallied three kills and one block. Park recorded five digs, one kill and one block, while Emamaullee chipped in two assists and one dig. Woo registered three digs while Tang had two blocks.
The Titans swept Ramona Convent High of Alhambra, 25-18, 25-18, in a tournament match on Sept. 30 as Wang produced 12 assists, nine digs and three kills.
Hoffman contributed six kills and two digs while Emamaullee recorded eight assists and two digs. Yu tallied four digs, three kills and one ace, Park finished with seven digs, two aces and one kill, and Wendling registered five digs and two assists. Kackstetter chipped in two kills, two blocks and one dig, while Levy and Woo each collected five digs. Tang notched three blocks and two kills, Li had two digs and one kill, and junior Chloe Linden had two digs.
San Marino swept Montebello, 25-14, 25-13, in its tournament opener on Sept. 30.
Yu recorded seven kills, three digs and one ace, while Wang finished with nine assists, nine digs and two kills. Hoffman chipped in four kills, two digs and one ace, Wendling registered three digs and one assist, and Emamaullee tallied two digs and one assist. Park produced one kill, one dig and one ace, while Kackstetter contributed one kill and one dig. Levy collected four digs and two aces, Li notched two digs and one kill, and Woo was credited with three digs. Tang had one kill while Linden had one dig.
First published in the Oct. 5 issue of the San Marino Tribune
