Palos Verdes girls volleyball defeats Bishop Montgomery, advances to CIF-SS quarterfinals

PALOS VERDES The second seeded Palos Verdes girls volleyball team used a collective effort in a four-set victory over Bishop Montgomery in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 playoffs, Saturday.

The Sea Kings (24-7) won 25-16, 27-29, 25-18, 25-15 to advance to Wednesday’s quarterfinal at Ontario Christian (26-14), which swept Santa Ana Foothill in other second-round action.

Kaci Demaria and Suzy Jellison paced Palos Verdes with 17 and 16 kills, respectively, while Kendall Beshear turned it on late in the match to finish with 11 kills and five blocks.

“We played with a lot of confidence and just trusted each other,” Palos Verdes coach Patrick Lynch said about the quick start. “Everything just seemed to be going right.”

The Sea Kings showed their power from the outset, as the Knights (15-15) failed to register a clean kill until Nora Williams’ point pulled them within 12-9. However, Palos Verdes led the set wire-to-wire to set the tone thanks to Demaria and Jellison’s 12 combined kills.

Bishop Montgomery had three players, including starting setter Julie St. Pierre and starting middle blocker Tobi Umeh, miss the game with the flu. The Knights eventually settled into a rhythm in a back-and-forth second set that was tied 15 times.

Sophomore outside hitter Kate Morley settled in and guided the Knights. Morley’s first kill of the set gave Bishop Montgomery a 13-12 advantage and from there she added four more points. After being shut out in the opening set, Morley finished with 11 kills.

She received help from senior Francesca Rocca, who delivered a pair of key service aces and the second set’s final kill to tie the match at a set apiece.

“We were just working out what our system would be (early in the match) because it was a totally new lineup,” Knights coach Tiffany Morales said. “Then, in the second set they were able to do something with it. … [Morley] is a phenomenal player, defensively and offensively.”

Palos Verdes seized the momentum in the third set. Trailing 10-8, the Sea Kings went on an 11-1 run and the Knights never recovered.

“We got them on their heels every once in a while, but obviously they’ve got big hitters,” Morales said. “They’ve got a great attack.”

Freshman Molly Labreche highlighted Palos Verdes’ fourth set, serving up a pair of aces to slow down Bishop Montgomery’s attack for good. Her sister, Mallory, added an ace of her own to close out match point.

“Molly Labreche really gave us a boost at the service line,” Lynch said. “That’s what we needed at that time and she did a great job.”

Looking ahead to the quarterfinals, Lynch said his team just needs to “realize we belong.”

“There’s a reason why we’ve made it this far and we have 24 wins to our credit,” he added. “We have to play with confidence, like we belong in these big games.”