Spartans fall to North in playoffs

STRATHMORE - Stephany Perez was a proud coach but definitely not satisfied.

That's how Perez felt after the Strathmore High volleyball team was eliminated by North from the Southern California Regional Division V playoffs in the quarterfinals on Thursday night at Spartan Gym. North the No. 5 seed, beat Strathmore, the No. 4 seed, in four games, 18-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-22.

Strathmore earned the right to host North based on its win at North in five games to win the Central Section title. The Spartans also won the program's first state playoff match ever when they swept Arroyo on Tuesday.

But while Perez, the SHS coach was proud, she also couldn't help but think what could have been.

"I'm sad we didn't make it to the semis or ev en the finals. I just wished we could have given it a little bit more," said Perez about advancing in the state playoffs. "But I'm still proud of what we did and how far Strathmore got."

Perez could have also thought about what could have been if her team was able to force a fifth game after taking a 22-19 lead in a fourth game that featured outstanding play by both teams and numerous long rallies.

But in the end North wouldn't be denied as it ended the match on a 6-0 run. "They just outplayed us," Perez said. "They found the floor more than we did."

Strathmore jumped out to a 4-1 lead in game 1 on Lily Valdez quick hit when North couldn't handle Pearl Johnson's serve before North came back to to take a 9-8 lead. That's when Strathmore's Hailey Lee took over with three straight kills to begin a 6-0 run that gave SHS a 14-9 lead. Tylie Dement served for five straight points during the run.

Jocelyn Acevedo's kill extended the Spartans' lead to 17-12. But North went on a 4-0 run to close to within 17-16 before Sophia Colunga had a kill that gave Strathmore an 18-16 advantage. North, though, scored the next two points to tie the game 18-18.

Then came the key point of the game as Colunga's hit bounced off the tape of the net and out on Strathmore's side. Two officials ruled North had blocked the hit, giving Strathmore a 19-18 lead.

That began a 7-0 run as SHS closed out the game. Ayleen Prado served for the final six points, including an ace, Colunga had two more kills, Johnson had a block and Faith Madrigal finished the game with two quick hits.

Strathmore found itself having to come back throughout game two as the Spartans fell behind 7-1. Strathmore was able to close to within 17-15 on Madrigal's block. But SHS ran out of steam as North went on a 6-1 run to take a 23-16 lead on its way to winning the game.

The Spartans trailed 10-9 in game three when it inexplicably began to struggle with its serve receive, leading North to dominate the game the rest of the way. "We struggled on serve receive," Perez said. "It was a big struggle tonight."

But Strathmore regrouped to challenge North in game in which the two teams looked like fighters trading blows. A key point in the game came when Dement made a spectacular save that led to Johnson's kill that tied the game 14-14.

Strathmore trailed 17-16 when Johnson had two straight quick hits to give SHS an 18-17 lead. Isabella Vossler followed with a kill to give the Spartans a 20-17 lead and when Acevedo came through with a perfectly placed kill, Strathmore led 22-19. But North would go on its 6-0 run to end the match.

Colunga had 11 kills, Vossler had 10 kills and Johnson added nine kills for Strathmore.

Spartans fall to North in playoffs

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