The Los Alamitos High girls volleyball team has struggled with consistency at times this year. But the Griffins had little trouble staying on task as they defeated Fountain Valley, 25-17, 25-16, 25-16 on Thursday at Fountain Valley High. Los Alamitos improved to 4-3 in league play with the win and are looking maintain their momentum as they close out league play. The Griffins can lock up third place in the league with a strong finish in their final three games. Griffin coach Dave Huber said the team has struggled to maintain focus in some key league, which has led to some struggles. In the win over Fountain Valley, the Griffins kept their composure despite some pressure by Fountain Valley and a loud Baron crowd. “We were just trying to have real consistent energy and focus, more than anything else,” Huber said. The three sets were tight early, but the Griffins controlled the latter part of each to complete the three-set sweep. After dropping the first two sets, the Barons battled to avoid the sweep, taking a 14-12 lead and grabbing some momentum. But the Griffins regrouped and went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead and control of the set. Hannah Wehring had a block for a point to cut the Baron lead to 14-13. Kelsey Cunningham followed that with an ace serve off a dig attempt to tie the set at 14-14. Mackenzie Smith had a kill off a block and Cunningham had another ace that gave the Griffins a 16-14 lead. After a couple of Baron kill attempts went wide, Natalie Rojes has a solo block for a point that pushed the Griffin lead to 19-14. The Barons finally broke the run with a kill off a block that cut the Griffin lead to 20-15, but Los Alamitos ran off four more consecutive points to get to match point at 24-15. Setter Julia Patterson won a jump ball over the net to put the Griffins up 23-15 and Sarah Tui had a kill to give the Griffins the 24-15 lead. A Baron tap attempt went wide for the match-clinching point. Huber said the team needs to maintain its energy to fuel a late season surge. “If that [energy] can be more consistent, then the level of play will be too,” Huber said. The Griffins hosted Newport Harbor on Tuesday and will play at league-leading Huntington Beach on Thursday, Oct. 29. The Griffins will close out the season on Nov. 3, at home against Marina. The Griffins will honor their seniors during the match against Marina.
