The Los Alamitos Girls volleyball team reached the third place game of the Molten volleyball classic tournament held at Lakewood High School on Tuesday September 9.
The Los Alamitos Girls volleyball team reached the third place game of the Molten volleyball classic tournament held at Lakewood High School on Tuesday September 9.
The Griffins faced a strong Villa Park squad that took the game to them for the entire match.
“We are a young team without a lot of experience so we are still trying to figure out all those roles and how to play together,” said Los Al coach David Huber. “We had some good moments in the five matches but ultimately we were not consist enough. Hopefully that will come as the season progresses.”
Los Alamitos started the tournament off strong wrapping up their first two victories in just three sets each. The Griffins swept a Carson squad in the first game of the tournament, then went and swept Saint Josephs in the very next game at the Joseph’s home court.
The tournament looked to be heading towards another championship finish after the Griffins defeated a Harvard Westlake squad landing themselves in a semi final match against Redondo High. The Griffins showed championship quality perseverance in the game against Westlake as they pulled away after be tied up with one set apiece.
The Griffins would lose their semi-final match against would-be champions of the Molten tournament Redondo High. Los Al’s fairly young squad performed well for their experience levels, and they exceeded their expectations when going up against big name schools.
Los Al’s outside hitters Hannah Wehring and Mackenzie Smith terrorized defenses with their powerful and accurate hits throughout the tournament. They were aided by a fine display by their young but experienced setter Julia Patterson, and their talented senior players.
“Junior setter Julia Patterson had a strong tournament,” said Huber. “Seniors Mikki Sale and Sydney Beyma were named all-tournament.”
The Griffins, who are coming of a top CIF-SS finish last year, are marching towards reliving another successful year. With the amount of raw talent the squad has, and at such a young age, the amount of potential for this year’s Griffins squad is through the roof. Once the team has a few more regulation games and tournaments under their belts, the experience will come, and so will more wins. This year’s season for the Griffins will depend on how well their young players can respond in crucial games during the season. If they can rise above the pressure and persevere as well as they did against the Westlake squad then this season for the Griffins looks bright.
The Griffins continued this week with a game against Long Beach Wilson on Tuesday, and then traveling to Las Vegas over the weekend to participate in the Durango tournament.
Los Al will be looking to get another win under its belt as well as looking for their first silverware of the season. Look for this Griffin squad to advance far in any competition they enter.
