Spartan Nation Rules! Strathmore VB wins Central Section title

For the third straight match in the playoffs the Strathmore High volleyball team pulled off a comeback, beating North in five games on Thursday night in Bakersfield. After losing the first two games the No. 4 seed Spartans came back to beat No. 2 seed North 23-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-8, 15-10 for the Central Section Division V title.

Strathmore also had to come back from 2-1 deficits to beat No. 1 seed East in the semifinals and Matilda Torres in five games on its way to winning the title.

"We do like to take it the distance," Strathmore coach Stephany Perez said. "We do like to give people their money's worth, I guess."

When middle blocker Isabella Vossler came through with a block for the match winning point that set off a celebration on the floor by the Spartans and the large contingent of their fans, who turned the North gym into Strathmore South. "She was a force at the net," Perez said. "She's just such a leader.

The Spartans will now await the seedings for the State Championships which will be announced on Sunday. The state playoffs are set to begin Tuesday and SHS is hoping for a home first round match so the Spartan Nation won't have to travel. "We want to make a serious run for a state title," Perez said.

Perez said her team was motivated by last year's 5-game loss at Morro Bay in the Central Section semifinals to a team that went on to win the state title. "Oh my gosh so proud," said Perez about the section title. "They have really worked hard for this since that semifinal against Morro Bay."

Strathmore was on the brink when it trailed in game three before it came back to pull out that game. Then the Spartans trailed 13-9 in game four but came back to tie the score 14-14.

North went on to take a 17-15 lead before SHS closed to within 17-16. Then came what was arguably the most important point of the match when libero Tylie Dement made a spectacular save and SHS went on to win the point.

So instead of being down 18-16 the Spartans were tied 17-17. Strathmore went on to complete a 10-1 run to win the game 25-18. "She makes so many amazing plays," said Perez about Dement.

Strathmore kept the momentum going, building an 8-3 lead in game 5. North closed to within 12-10 but SHS won the final three points, with Vossler's block serving as the climax.

Perez said Vossler had more than 15 kills along with having 17 kills and 18 kills in her previous matches. Perez also praised the play of setter Pearl Johnson, who "ran our offense amazingly."

Among the other leaders was four-year varsity player Sophia Colunga, who made the switch from opposite hitter to outside hitter. "She has been another key to our success the last two years," Perez said.

Another key Perez said has been the team's preparation routine which is the exactly the same before every match. "We are very meticulous about that routine that we run," she said. "We want stop doing it."

She said the routine is "the same to the minutes" right down to the prematch meal. "The girls eat exactly the same thing."

DOS PALOS 3, SUMMIT 1

No. 7 Seed Summit Collegiate High School fell at No. 1 Dos Palos 17-25, 10-25, 25-11, 19-25 in the Central Section Division VI Championship match on Thursday night.

"It's a great story, proud of them," Summit coach Job Lara said. "We just didn't get it done last night. I'm very proud of the girls being 7 seed to ge to the dance.

"They just outplayed us. They capitalized on our errors. The covered the floor pretty well defensively."

Lara added Dos Palos was able to keep his team from the tempo it wanted. "The had enough offense to make it difficult for us," he said.

"We like to play up tempo. They slowed it down. The girls played hard and fought for every point."

Lara noted how far his program came from begging players to come out and bribing them with donuts to reaching the section title match. "I think it's just a great thing for the school."

But Lara said before the season he thought this team was special, saying "I think we have the most talented group of athletes we've ever had."

Summit was led offensively against Dos Palos by Maren Pregler, Ava Christie and Sophia Pope.

"Defensively Jaselyn Mitchell came up big," added Lara about the sophomore. He also praised the play of junior setter Alyssa Christie. "Alyssa Christie managed the game well," he said.

The team was led in serving by Kharlie Phanthavong. Lara noted the team has a strong nucleus coming back that includes freshmen Ava Christie and Phanthavong.

Spartan Nation Rules! Strathmore VB wins Central Section title

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