Marymount women volleyball staff is peaking on the proper time — and that might imply hassle for opponents.
The Sailors had all the things working for them in a 25-13, 25-17, 25-15 sweep of visiting Mira Costa within the Southern Part Division 1 quarterfinals on Tuesday evening, exhibiting no indicators of rust after a first-round bye within the 12-team bracket.
“We couldn’t have been more prepared,” Washington-bound senior hitter Sammy Destler stated. “Our energy got us to the finish line. We were on fire. That’s the best we’ve played all season.”
Destler entered the match two kills shy of 1,000 for her profession and it didn’t take lengthy for her to succeed in the milestone, reaching it on a strike to the correct aspect that gave Marymount a 12-6 lead within the first set.
“I had no clue until they announced it, but it feels good,” stated Destler, certainly one of seven Sailors who completed with at the least 5 kills. “We’re very familiar with them, they have Audrey [Flanagan] and Simone [Roslon] and they’re always tough but tonight was about everything we did on our side.”
The fifth-seeded Mustangs (24-10), who shared the Bay League crown with No. 2 Redondo Union regardless of dropping their first league match since 2019, had pushed Marymount to 5 units in a nonleague match in September, however this time they might not deal with the Sailors’ balanced assault.
Marymount’s serving saved Mira Costa out of system all match. Within the first set alone the Sailors served seven aces, together with three in a row by Southern Methodist-bound center blocker Elle Vandeweghe, that put her staff up 20-9. She and Destler mixed for a stuff block on set level.
Destler opened the second set with one other ace, then Frankie Jones ended it with a kill. Destler and Makenna Barnes, a Northwestern commit, every had eight kills apiece whereas Vandeweghe and the Brown-bound Jones every added six.
Flanagan, a Wisconsin commit, paced the Mustangs with eight kills and acquired a hug afterwards from Destler, certainly one of her greatest buddies.
Marymount’s Makenna Barnes, proper, goes on the assault in opposition to Mira Costa blockers Liliana Swanson, left, and Milly McGee, heart, throughout Marymount’s victory within the Southern Part Division 1 quarterfinals on Tuesday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Instances)
“We’ve played so many more matches than other teams,” Marymount coach Cari Klein stated. “I didn’t want it, but I think we needed those extra few days rest because of the intensity of our schedule.”
The fourth-seeded Sailors (37-5) superior to the semifinals to face top-seeded Sierra Canyon (37-3) on Saturday for the fourth time this season. The Sailors gained the primary assembly, 21-25, 25-15, 25-12 within the finals of the Durango Fall Basic in Las Vegas. The Trailblazers rebounded to take a pair of Mission League conferences over a span of eight days.
Klein, who’s hoping to pilot the Sailors to their eleventh part title in her twenty eighth season, was so locked in to the duty at hand Tuesday that she didn’t have a look at the CIF web site to see if her staff had gained the coin flip for the subsequent spherical: “Please say it’s here!”
Her want was not granted, as Marymount must journey to Chatsworth, the place it dropped a five-set thriller on Sept. 29, however Destler is assured they will win on any court docket.
“If we play like we this, there’s no stopping us,” she stated.
