Los Alamitos High girls volleyball team won three consecutive matches on their way to winning their division at the Durango fall classic tournament in Las Vegas from Sept. 19-20.

The Griffins finished with an overall record of 4-3 but they rallied back to make their trip out to Nevada worthwhile.

“The team found some energy that had been lacking in previous matches,” said Los Al’s head coach David Huber. “The high energy levels helped lead to some more consistent play.”

The Griffins team did suffer its share of losses but their more experienced players in the squad helped lead their team to overcome the shortcomings.

Senior libero Mikki Sale had an impressive showing at the tournament as she capped off Los Al’s backline. Sale’s ability to dig out would-be kills opened up hitting chances for her teammates.

Griffins’ outside hitter Taylor Cochrane came up with with kills in crucial situations throughout the tournament, and she played a big part in finishing the tournament on a high note.

Los Al wrapped up their final two matches in just two sets each as they claimed victories over Cathedral Catholic and then Bishop Manogue in the final game of the tournament.

The success late in the tournament spilled over and gave the Griffins confidence going into their first of two games last week.

On Sept. 24, the Griffins notches home an all around victory as they swept Palos Verdes High in three sets away from home.

Their second match of the week would prove more troublesome.

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Los Al faced Newport Harbor High on its home turf for their first league match of the season. The Griffins fought throughout the match but couldn’t hold off the relentless Sailors’ attack.

In a five set match, Newport came away with the overall victory just edging the Griffins in the end by only a set handing them their second straight loss to the Sailors in two years.

Los Alamitos looked to to bounce back to its winning fashion in a matchup on Oct. 7 against Huntington Beach High away from home.

The last two times these teams have faced off the Griffins came away with victories in 3-1 sets.

Los Alamitos High’s football team achieved a blowout 42-7 non-league victory against San Juan Hills High on Thursday, Sept. 25.

The Griffins came out thundering since the start of the game and never let up.

“It’s a good win. We played very well on defense, and ran a lot of plays on offense,” said Los Al’s head coach John Barnes.

Defense was the key word in Los Al’s victory as they allowed no points through the first half and the latter parts of the third quarter.

Griffins’ Matt Locher was pivotal in the victory as his dominating presence in the defensive line broke down San Juan’s running game.

Just as pivotal in the victory was the Griffins offense. They capitalized on the opportunities afforded to them by the defense and walked into the locker room at the half up 35-0.

Griffins’ quarterback Jack Telenko had three touchdown passes and even ran one in on his own for a rushing score.

“I think he’s great,” said Barnes. “ He’s getting better all the time and he makes our team good.”

Telenko threw all three touchdown receptions in the first half of the game.

His first was to out to the right to receiver Jacob Gasser for a 10-yard reception to get themselves on the scoreboard.

Telenko’s next scoring throw was up the middle of the field to receiver Joe Wysocki who brushed off a couple of tackles on his way to the endzone with about a minute left in the first quarter.

His last was to running back Schuyler Whitehead to make it 28-0. Whitehead would go on later in the second quarter to notch home his second rushing touchdown making it 35-0 with less than five minutes left in the half.

San Juan Hills never really found it’s rhythm against Los Al. They had turnover after turnover, which is why the Griffins were able to put up mass amounts of points quickly.

San Juan did muster up a bit of momentum to get themselves on the scoreboard late in the third quarter. After a huge reception by their standout receiver Jacob Huff, San Juan suddenly found itself a yard away from the endzone. On the next play San Juan forced its way in the endzone and onto the scoreboard.

Despite mustering some momentum, the efforts from San Juan came far to late to worry the Los Al sideline.

The Griffins never skipped a beat on defense, and make their opponents feel their presence up until the end of the game.

Well into San Juan’s final drive of the game, Los Al would deliver its final morale killing play.

Griffins’ Trevor Repogle picked off a forced pass up out to the right with only a two minutes left in the game.

Los Al would wind out the clock to finish the game, and were met with a roaring reception by its fan who made the drive out to Veterans Stadium.

After the game, Los Al’s coach John Barnes had only one response to what he believes was his team’s strongest facet and that is “winning.”

Los Al will look to improve on it 4-0 winning record when it faces its next opponent, Narbonne High, on Oct. 3 away from home.