Riding on the powerful right wing of Lara Dykstra, the Redondo Sea Hawks have soared into the CIF Southern Section-Ford Division 1-AA championship match where Coach Tommy Chaffins’ fifth-seeded team will face second-seed Long Beach Poly at Cypress College Saturday in a 7 p.m. showdown.
With an unstoppable swing, Dykstra recorded 28 kills, 16 digs and two blocks in Redondo’s 25-13, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16 victory over visiting Lakewood in the semifinals Tuesday in what Chaffins described as one of the most dominating performances he has ever seen.
“Lara Dykstra was amazing,” Chaffins said as his players, their family members and supporters flooded the court to celebrate the Sea Hawk’s fourth trip to the CIF finals. “She had 28 kills and only one hitting error. That’s one of the most unbelievable performances. Blake O’Brien did a great job getting her the ball and Tiffany Morales played unbelievable on serve receive and defense and Skylar Dykstra had 16 kills. When there is somebody hot like Lara, you get them the ball.”
“I just play for my teammates so we can get the next point,” Lara Dykstra said. “It helps to have a great setter like Blake O’Brien. With this group of girls, throughout the year, we’ve formed such great chemistry and became a family. I knew we could get to this point. We’ve never taken a day off practice and worked extremely hard. I’m so happy right now.”
O’Brien recorded 40 assists, Morales had 21 digs and Skylar Dykstra added 16 kills to complement her sister’s stellar performance.
Redondo (29-7) refuses to be intimidated by any team, including Lakewood which eliminated top-seeded Harvard-Westlake in the second round and is not surprised to be playing for a CIF title.
Five times the Sea Hawks were tied with the Lancers before going on runs of five or more points.
“Our love for each other is the key,” Morales said. “We play for each other. All year long we’ve had the dream of playing for a CIF championship and we’ve worked very hard every day to get there. We have great people on the sidelines pushing us to get better.”
Chaffins expected the same outcome.
“I believed we could be playing for the championship because of our outstanding leadership. We have experience. Lara is a four-year starter. Tiffany Morales and Blake O’Brien are three-year starters. Skylark Dykstra is a two-year starter. At the beginning of the season, I thought we were one of eight teams that would be there. I don’t think there has been a clear cut favorite this year.
“We pride ourselves in getting better every day and making every minute count. One could argue that us reaching the finals is reflective of that hard work. We are the high school beneficiary of having successful club players that have the experience of big-game matches.”
The Sea Hawks are looking forward to their rematch with Long Beach Poly (34-2) after a 16-25, 25-17, 17-15 loss to the Jackrabbits in the Redondo Power Classic on Oct. 30. Long Beach Poly swept host Los Alamitos 25-13, 21-25, 25-18, 25-16 in its semifinal match.
“We’re really excited for the rematch,” Dykstra said. “We fought them really hard in our tournament and I think we can surprise a lot of people. We’re just going to go out there and do what we always do.”
Redondo reached the semifinals by defeating fourth seed Newport Harbor 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23 at home. Lara Dykstra took control of the match recording 29 kills and adding 22 digs.
Redondo began its post-season run with a 25-15, 25-15, 25-18 win over visiting Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks. The Sea Hawks then overcame an antagonistic crowd with a 25-21, 21-25, 28-26, 25-19 road victory at Orange Lutheran in the second round.
The last time the Sea Hawks reached the CIF finals was in 2007 when the Redondo lost to rival Mira Costa. The Sea Hawks won their only championship in 2006 with a stunning five-game upset over the Mustangs.
Mira Costa saw its 2010 season come to a crashing halt when visiting San Clemente upset the seventh-seeded Mustangs 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 25-14.
Emma White concluded her prep career with a match-high 29 kills and added 12 digs, but it wasn’t enough for Coach Lisa Zimmerman’s squad.
Corie Bain recorded 30 assists and eight digs, Ella Rosenfeld contributed five kills and three blocks and Maddy Klineman added five kills for the Mustangs who will lose only four players from their 13-player roster.
Mira Costa reached the second round after beating Westlake 25-13, 20-25, 25-16, 25-12.
Peninsula (16-13), the Bay League’s third-place team, was swept by tenth seed Santa Barbara in the first round while Palos Verdes (16-14) suffered the same outcome at ninth-seed Dos Pueblos.Â
In Division 2AA, Pioneer League champion South (22-8) defeated Norco and Tesoro before losing to fifth seed St. Lucy’s. El Segundo (10-10) was eliminated by sixth seed Riverside Poly in the second round.
Bishop Montgomery (12-15) was swept by top-seeded La Canada in the second round. North (11-12) was eliminated by No. 10 Oaks Christian in the first round.
In Division 3AA, Prep champion and top-seeded Chadwick (27-0) remained undefeated, rallying from a two-game deficit to defeat fourth-seeded Quartz Hill 25-27, 19-25, 25-8, 25-21, 15-9 in the semifinals. The Dolphins will play Prep League runner-up Pasadena Poly (19-6) in the championship match.
In Division 4AA, Serra earned a third seed and a first round bye. The Cavaliers (19-3) swept Cate and Ontario before losing to unranked Brethren Christian in the semifinals.
In Division 5AA, Vistamar (12-6) fell to Vasquez in five games in first round action.
Boys Water Polo
Fifth seed Mira Costa (22-9) had its season end with a 5-2 loss to No. 1 Laguna Beach in the CIF Division 3 semifinals last Wednesday.
Although the Mustangs held the top-seeded Breakers to five goals, Mira Costa could only muster goals by Julian Mon and Trevor Tarte in the 5-2 loss. The game marked the tenth time in the last 11 years the Mustangs have  reached the semifinals.
Mira Costa edged fourth seed La Canada 5-4 in the quarterfinals when Ryan Koverman and Jake Miller scored two goals, Charlie Manclark added a solo shot and goalkeeper Dana Tuttle recorded nine saves.
The Mustangs eliminated Ayala 15-7 in the opening round.
Third-seeded Palos Verdes (22-9) defeated Culver City 19-9 and Capistrano Valley 12-11 to reach the semifinals but fell to Damien 11-8 in the Sea Kings’ quest for back-to-back CIF titles.
After winning its wild-card game, ninth-ranked Peninsula (15-10) fell to No. 2 Damien 20-8 in the first round.
In Division 5, Chadwick (17-8) lost at Glendale 17-7 in the opening round.
Girls Cross Country
Mira Costa and Redondo won their heats in easy fashion at the CIF Division 2 Prelims at Mt. SAC with times of 1:32.36 and 1:33.36, respectively. Top-ranked Saugus recorded a team time of 1:32.19.
Mira Costa had the top three finishers in its heat to defeat Sultana 23-76. Bay League champion Savannah Pio finished in 18 minutes, 21 seconds, followed by Kelli Sugimoto (18:21) and Aryn Foland (18.29).Â
Redondo outpaced Royal 20-77 to win its heat. The Sea Hawks were led by Rachel Bush (1st, 18:16) and Laura O’Neill (2nd, 18:21). Following Lyndsey Mull’s fourth-place finish at 18:36, the Sea Hawks took the sixth through eight spots with Kayla Ferron (18:41), Cara Ulizio (18:42) and Kelly Ryan (18:48) making up the pack. Anique Villegas (19:59) placed 15th for Redondo.
The finals begin Saturday at 7:45 a.m. at Mt. SAC.
Girls Tennis
Tenth-ranked Mira Costa (13-7) lost to third-seed University 15-3 in the second round of the Division 1 playoffs Saturday. The Mustangs defeated Sunny Hills 15-3 in the opening round.
Maegan Mannase swept her three singles sets against University to remain undefeated with a 63-0 record this season. She will compete in the CIF Southern Section-Ford Individual Championships beginning Friday.
Bay League champion Peninsula (16-2) earned a fourth seed and defeated Simi Valley 15-3 in the first round and                   Santa Margarita 16-2 in the second. The Panthers lost to Corona del Mar 12-6 Tuesday. Â
Palos Verdes (8-8) had its season end with a 13-5 loss at Harvard Westlake in the first round.
In Division 2, third-seed Chadwick (15-2) beat Cypress before losing to Murrieta Valley 9-9 (80-67) in the second round.
In Division 4, fifth-seed Bishop Montgomery (14-3) and El Segundo (12-7) advanced out of the first round to square off Saturday where El Segundo won 10-8. The Eagles were eliminated by fourth seed Cate 12-6 in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
After its wild-card win, Torrance (10-5) knocked off Quartz Hill, advancing to the second round where the Tartars  fell to second-seed Santa Ynez 11-7.
All games with the exception of the final round are scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ER
