Strong preparation served the San Marcos High girls’ volleyball team well in its 25-15, 25-21, 25-20 sweep of top-seeded Rancho Christian on Thursday night at the Thunderhut.
The Royals will now advance to the Quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division two playoffs where they will take on Moore League Champion Long Beach Poly Wednesday, on the road.
“We were all watching film, we all came up with a game plan and thankfully it worked for us,” said San Marcos coach Erica Downing. “We are so deep that our practice is at a higher level than [games] going against each other.”
With a team composed entirely of seniors, the Royals have shown rapid improvement and our peaking at the right time.
Cora Loomer and Reese Paskin led the way for San Marcos with eight kills. Charlotte Hastings and Samantha Fallon added seven kills. Paskins has stepped into an increased role with an injury to captain Gracie Stone and flourished in the Royals’ balanced attack.
“Obviously, Gracie getting injured was not what we expected, and it definitely changed our lineup a lot, ” Paskins said. “I’m proud of our team for being able to work around that and be able to fight and win in three sets.”
Visiting Rancho Christian came into the match on an 11-match winning streak and did not drop a set in Ivy League play this season, but San Marcos quickly took control in set one and increased its lead to 17-10 on an ace serve by Alina Stapf.
A spike by Charlotte Hasting put the Royals ahead 23-15 with a spike down the line, and San Marcos clinched a 1-0 set lead on a Rancho Christian serving error.
The Eagles made adjustments in set two and took a 10-7 lead on a kill by freshman Celeste Kemle. An ace serve by Sophia Duguid increased the lead to 12-7.
However, San Marcos responded with an 8-3 run capped off by a Fallon block that tied the score at 15-15.
Back-to-back kills by Paskin put the Royals ahead 21-17 and forced a Rancho Christian timeout. San Marcos went on to clinch the set on a spike by Loomer.
In set three, the Royals jumped out to a 10-4 lead on an ace serve by Jeannie Johnson and never looked back. A late 6-2 run by Rancho Christian cut its deficit to 24-20, forcing a San Marcos timeout, but a serving error by the Eagles on the ensuing action secured set three and the match for San Marcos.
Wiseburn Da Vinci, 3; Bishop Diego, 1
A strong season by the Cardinals came to an end in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 6 playoffs. Bishop Diego won the opening set, but could not hold off the visiting Wolves in a 23-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-20 loss.
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