First published in the Sept. 8 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
The Polytechnic varsity girls’ volleyball team improved its record to 7-0 (3-0 in league) after recently sweeping a trio of Prep League matches.
The Panthers defeated host Flintridge Prep, 25-14, 27-25, 25-13, in a crosstown rivalry league matchup as Emily Wen amassed 21 kills, 19 assists, four blocks and five digs. Caroline Holdsworth produced 46 assists, eight digs and one ace, while Cyanne Jones registered nine kills, four blocks, one assist, one dig and two aces. Cameilia Ding posted six kills, one block, seven digs and three aces, Bekah Hong collected nine assists, 15 digs and two aces, and Tilde Keatley finished with three kills, two blocks and one dig.
Bella Duncan tallied one kill, four blocks and one dig, Irina Alsoufiev recorded one assist, two digs and two aces, and Kathleen Hollingsworth had one block
Poly also swept visiting Providence High of Burbank, 25-9, 25-20, 25-19, in a league match as Wen posted a team-high 10 kills with 17 assists, three digs and two aces. Hong produced five assists, seven digs and two aces. Ding tallied eight kills, two blocks, one dig and two aces, while Tilde Keatley accumulated seven kills, one block and two digs. Holdsworth notched 27 assists, six digs and two aces, Ellie Chu had 18 assists, one kill and five digs, and Alsoufiev recorded 10 assists, nine digs and two aces. Maja Keatley finished with three kills, three blocks, one dig and one ace, Duncan collected three kills and two blocks, and Jones registered three kills. Lilie Henry recorded two kills, two assists and five digs, Hollingsworth logged one kill and two digs and Katie Sam had one dig.
The Panthers previously opened Prep League play at Rio Hondo Prep in Arcadia, posting a 25-11, 26-24, 27-25 victory as Holdsworth amassed 59 assists and 11 digs. Wen accumulated 10 kills, 27 assists, one block, seven digs and three aces, while Hong collected 20 assists, 14 digs and two aces. Tilde Keatley notched eight kills three blocks and one dig, while Jones tallied seven kills, two blocks, one assist, three digs and two aces. Duncan posted four kills and three assists, Ding produced four kills, one block and six digs, and Henry and Maja Keatley had four and two kills, respectively. Chu registered two kills, seven assists, eight digs and one ace, Hollingsworth notched one kill, one dig and two aces, Alsoufiev recorded one assist and nine digs and Sam finished with one assist, one ace and four digs.
Poly will visit Mayfield Senior in a league matchup on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m.
FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART
The Tologs recently wrapped up their New York trip, winning two of the three nonleague matches they played on the East Coast.
FSHA finished its string of New York competitions by defeating Riverdale Country High in the Bronx, 23-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-17, last Friday. Senior Nikki Garriola produced 10 kills and 10 digs, juniors Luisa Madrigal and Veronica Udell each recorded seven kills, and senior Erin Carney tallied five kills. Junior Lindsey Du collected 17 digs and five aces, while senior Charlotte Taylor finished with 13 digs and five aces.
FSHA lost the backend of a doubleheader to host Poly Prep Country Day High in Brooklyn, 18-25, 25-19, 16-25, last Thursday, despite Garriola collecting eight kills and five aces. Udell and Madrigal each had five kills while the latter added a pair of blocks, and Taylor notched five aces.
The Tologs won their New York opener by sweeping Fontbonne Hall Academy in Brooklyn, 25-11, 25-11, 25-12, as Garriola collected five kills, six aces and 10 digs. Madrigal had four kills, while senior Keira Limon recorded four kills and two aces.
The Tologs bounced back after falling to powerful South Pasadena with a nonleague sweep at La Salle College Preparatory, 25-12, 25-8, 25-23. Madrigal produced a team-high 10 kills, four digs and one block, senior Emily Smith collected 15 assists and six digs, and sophomore Ally Du finished with seven aces, eight assists and three digs. The seven aces marked a single-match career-high for Ally Du, who previously never had more than three in one match. Limon tallied five kills, two aces, one block and three digs, sophomore Piper Scherbert registered five kills and two blocks, Garriola recorded four kills, one ace, 10 digs and one block, and Udell posted four kills, one block and one dig. Taylor notched three aces and one dig, Lindsey Du logged six digs and two assists, and Carney and senior Ellamae Fortin each had one dig.
FSHA lost a tough nonleague matchup at South Pasadena, 21-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-15, on Aug. 23. The Tologs opened the match strong by trading points with the Tigers in a back-and-forth battle that saw seven lead changes. FSHA faced a three-point deficit, 19-16, when Lindsey Du swung the momentum in the Tologs’ favor on four consecutive serves, including a pair of aces. After building a narrow 24-21 lead, senior Nikki Garriola put the Tigers away with an ace to give FSHA a first-set victory.
“We knew South Pas had way more hitters than us and if we were going to stay close with them during this match, it would be on the service line,“ FSHA head coach Trent Tcheng said. “The first set we were hitting our targets, hitting our zones and we were passing decently. The rest of the match, it all kind of went out the door.”
Garriola tallied a team-high 12 kills and nine digs in addition to her ace, while Lindsey Du collected four total aces and 13 digs.
“Nikki had some decent swings but really what we’re fighting with her is making sure that she’s consistent throughout the entire match. Right now, I think she’s just a little bit hesitant, which puts her in a bad position when she’s not getting that full approach,” Tcheng said. “Lindsey was probably our most consistent server; she’s gonna serve tough. We give her the most leeway to make mistakes just because of how aggressive she is, but she can also pinpoint most of her serves.”
Udell and Madrigal registered six and four kills, respectively, while sophomore Piper Scherbert had three kills and four blocks. Limon produced a kill and an ace, Taylor had 10 digs and a kill, and Carney recorded a kill. Senior Emily Smith and sophomore Ally Du each notched one ace.
FSHA (4-2 overall) will host Marlborough High of Hancock Park in a nonleague match on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 6:30 p.m.
MARANATHA
The Minutemen collected their third consecutive sweep after defeating visiting Pomona, 25-6, 25-9, 25-15, in a nonleague match last Thursday, as sophomore Belen Casillas collected a team-high 14 kills, six aces and six digs. Junior Lauren Nguyen amassed 23 assists, five aces and seven digs, while senior Jada Dixon registered eight kills and three digs. Junior Kira Foster produced team-high nine aces and six digs, junior Alex Carrillo tallied two aces and five digs, and junior Nicole Timour finished with two kills, seven aces and two digs. Senior Phoebe Lim recorded one kill and three digs, junior Tori Coates posted one ace and three assists, and junior Chidera Abaelu had one kill
Maranatha previously defeated visiting Brentwood School of Los Angeles in a nonleague matchup, 25-16, 26-24, 25-16 as Casillas collected 11 kills, three aces and seven digs. Nguyen tallied 23 assists three kills, four aces and eight digs, while Dixon produced seven kills, one block and two digs. Foster and Coates each posted four aces while adding 12 and five digs, respectively, Timour registered four kills, one ace and nine digs, and Lim finished with one kill.
The Minutemen traveled to Pasadena High and swept the nonleague match 25-14, 25-11, 25-20 over the Bulldogs as Casillas amassed 14 kills, four aces, one block and seven digs and Nguyen collected 25 assists, two aces and 11 digs. Dixon notched six kills and one dig, Timour finished with four kills, one block and eight digs, and Foster recorded four aces and 15 digs. Lim registered eight digs, Coates posted two aces and three digs, Carrillo tallied one ace and one dig, and Abaelu had one kill.
Maranatha dropped a four-set nonleague battle to visiting Bishop Amat High of La Puente, 25-21, 25-21, 27-29, 25-17, as Casillas tallied 12 kills, one block and 10 digs and Dixon produced 12 kills and four digs. Nguyen collected three kills, 10 digs and 17 assists, while Coates registered four aces, five digs and 14 assists. Foster notched three aces and 11 digs, Timour logged four kills and three digs, and junior Julia Datema finished with three kills and one dig. Lim recorded four digs, while sophomore Kayla Sartin had one block.
The Minutemen (5-4 overall) will compete in the Whittier tournament on Friday, Sept. 9, and Saturday, Sept. 10.
FLINTRIDGE PREP
The Wolves recently swept visiting St. Genevieve High of Panorama City, 25-6, 25-8, 25-11, in a nonleague match last Friday as Jessica Powell collected 10 kills on 14 swings. Candice Huang tallied seven aces, while Marissa Halley had 16 digs.
Flintridge Prep come out on top in a thrilling five-set battle against visiting Chadwick School of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, narrowly winning the Prep League match 22-25, 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 15-5 on Thursday as Abbie Callaway amassed 18 kills and four aces. Powell produced 14 kills and three blocks, Amelia Bechthold registered seven kills, and Ashlyn Nam tallied six aces and two kills. Halley and Jaleen Tseng finished with 20 and 11 digs, respectively.
The Wolves lost a competitive league match to visiting Polytechnic, 25-14, 27-25, 25-13, last Tuesday. Despite the sweep, Flintridge Prep went on a 20-12 scoring run against a tough Poly squad after facing a three-point deficit in the second set. The Wolves couldn’t hang on to a set victory, but head coach Reed Bradley was proud of the effort his team showed. Callaway collected 10 kills and nine digs, Natalia Pradhan posted five kills, Halley had eight digs and Lucy Liu posted a pair of aces.
Flintridge Prep picked up a nonleague sweep at San Gabriel, 25-18, 25-18, 25-15. Callaway led the Wolves with 14 kills and four aces, Powell collected seven kills, and Halley had 14 digs.
The Wolves were previously swept in their league opener by visiting Mayfield Senior, 25-7, 25-18, 25-18. Callaway produced 10 kills, Powell tallied a pair of blocks, and Liu registered two aces.
Flintridge Prep (8-3 overall, 1-2 in league) will visit Westridge School in a league matchup on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 5:30 p.m.
LA SALLE
The Lancers suffered their ninth consecutive loss after falling at South Pasadena, 25-16, 25-11, 25-11, in a nonleague match on Thursday. Avery Ward collected five kills, three digs and one block, Holly Rettig produced one kill and three digs, and Adrianne Fuentes tallied one kill and one dig. Ava Alvarado posted seven digs, while Jazline Hernandez recorded three assists and three digs. Maya Eriksson tallied two assists and three aces, Georgia Longhurst registered one dig and one block, and Jocelyn Allen had one block.
La Salle was swept at Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks, 25-6, 25-19, 25-15, in a nonleague match last Wednesday as Ward produced five kills, seven digs and one block. Jadelyn Sherman collected five assists, one ace and three digs, Alvarado finished with one assist, one ace and 11 digs, Hernandez registered one assist and two digs and Eriksson had two kills.
The Lancers previously wrapped up tournament play during the second weekend of the Lakewood Molten Classic, falling to Saugus, 25-8, 25-11, Westminster, 25-21, 25-21, and El Rancho High of Pico Rivera, 25-8, 25-14.
La Salle College Preparatory was swept by a tough Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy squad, 25-12, 25-8, 25-23, in a nonleague matchup. Ward tallied three kills, Rettig posted two kills, and Longhurst and Sherman each had one kill.
La Salle was swept at Arcadia, 25-17, 25-20, 25-21, in a nonleague matchup despite Ward finishing with 13 kills, two aces, three digs and one block. Rettig produced six kills and eight digs, while Sherman recorded three kills, 10 assists and seven digs. Alvarado had three assists, one ace and 15 digs, and Hernandez notched nine assists, two aces and eight digs. Longhurst collected one kill and two digs, while Eriksson and Talia Ettinger registered two and one dig, respectively.
The Lancers (2-9 overall) will visit La Cañada for a nonleague matchu on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 5 p.m.
