The Los Alamitos High girls volleyball team took control early against Long Beach Wilson and never let the Bruins mount much of a threat in a season-opening win on Thursday at Wilson High. The Griffins swept the match in three sets, 25-11, 25-13, 25-18, jumping out to big early leads in the first two sets.
Wilson did find some momentum early in the third, but the Griffins eventually pulled away to prevent them from extending the match. Griffin Head Coach Dave Huber was pleased with the team’s focus, noting that the Griffins have a large number of players getting their first significant playing time at the varsity level.
“So, the focus and just our communication on the court, kind of checking, rechecking those responsibilities, make sure we’re doing the things we’re supposed to do, that’s what we talked about during the week, is the process,” Huber said.
Senior outside hitter Ashley Repetti, one of the team’s returning leaders, led the offense with 10 kills and junior outside hitter Brynn Minter contributed six kills. Sophomore libero, Kaitlyn Herweg, who played varsity last year, anchored the back row defense with 11 digs.
Huber said the Griffins have about six sophomores and a couple of juniors who are getting their first significant varsity experience this year.
The leadership of the returning varsity leadership will be key in helping the new players get comfortable in their roles. The Griffins are coming off a season in which they went 31-5 overall and 4-2 in the Sunset Surf League. They finished second behind Huntington Beach, which went 5-1 in league play.
The Griffins host Santa Margarita High tonight and will play at St. Joseph of Lakewood on Thursday at 6 p.m. They will host Long Beach Poly on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
