Redondo’s bid to defend title in girls volleyball tournament falls short
Sophomore setter Norene Iosia was named to the all-tournament team after helping Redondo reach the championship match of the Dave Mohs Tournament at Edison High School in Huntington Beach. Photo
Redondo Union’s girls volleyball team was right where it wanted to be. The Sea Hawks reached had reached Monday’s championship match of the Dave Mohs Tournament with a chance to defend their title. Facing Mater Dei, Redondo also had the opportunity to avenge an early-season home loss to the Monarchs.
In a battle of the top two teams in CIF Southern Section Division 1-AA, Redondo once again fell short losing to top-ranked Mater Dei 13-25, 25-16, 15-10 at Edison High School in Huntington Beach.
Redondo was defeated by Mater Dei 25-17, 19-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-6 on Sept. 7. The two teams may face each other as early as this weekend in Las Vegas during the prestigious Durango Fall Classic.
Briana Lanktree led Redondo with 15 kills against Mater Dei, earning all-tournament team honors along with teammate Norene Iosia.
Kristen Hamlin added six kills, Marissa Mitter contributed four kills and two blocks, Megan Rice had three kills. Leilani Martinez had two aces and 11 digs and Hayes Honea added two aces for the Sea Hawks.
Redondo began the tournament with wins over Edison 27-29, 25-22, 15-9, Foothill 25-15, 25-18 and Whittier Christian (No. 1, Div. 2-A) 25-16, 25-21.
The Sea Hawks reached the finals by beating Murrieta Valley 23-25, 25-20, 16-10 and Santa Margarita 25-21, 25-16.
Redondo entered the tournament after an impressive 25-12, 25-17, 25-9 sweep of Bishop Montgomery, the third-ranked team in Division 1-A.
Iosia, a sophomore setter, recorded 24 assists, two kills and five aces in the win. Mitter had 11 kills, Lanktree added 10 kills and Hayes Hosea posted 10 kills to defeat the Knights in what was former Mira Costa standout Keegan Featherstone’s debut as head coach at Bishop Montgomery.
Junior outside hitter Skylar Caputo and the Mira Costa Mustangs are on the verge of breaking into the CIF Division 1-AA top ten. Photo
Featherstone was a two-time CIF champion at Mira Costa, a four-year starter at UC Irvine and previously coached the freshman girls team at Mira Costa.
It didn’t take long for head coach Tommy Chaffins’ Sea Hawk squad to rebound from its second loss to Mater Dei.
Redondo defeated an experience Orange Lutheran team 25-16, 24-26, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12 at home Tuesday evening.
Lanktree led the Sea Hawks with 14 kills and added 16 digs and three aces. Iosia recorded 58 assists and had five blocks and three kills in the victory.
Mitter had 10 kills while Hamlin and Rice each recorded nine kills and two blocks. Leilani Martinez had 26 digs and Hosea added 18 digs for Redondo.
Mira Costa had a final tune-up Tuesday before playing in the Durango Fall Classic. The Mustangs rallied against host Edison to win the first set 25-22 before finishing off the Chargers 25-23, 25-14.
Phina Leilua led the Mustangs with 11 kills, Feld added 32 digs, Katie Rethmeyer had six kills and Furlan recorded 37 assists.
After dropping a hard-fought season-opening home match to then top-ranked Marymount, 30-28, 16-25, 25-18, 25-20, Mira Costa rebounded to sweep Notre Dame Academy 25-20, 25-10, 25-9 dropping Notre Dame from its No. 7 position and out of the top ten in Division 1-AA.
Junior outside hitter Skylar Caputo recorded a team-high 20 kills against Marymount and had 11 kills and six digs against Notre Dame. Libero Brooke Feld made 45 digs in the two matches.
Senior setter Sammy Furlan is spreading the ball around and had 39 assists against Marymount and 5-foot-11 middle blocker Erin Sugisi is becoming a force for the Mustangs.
The Durango Fall Classic will be held Friday and Saturday and features 64 teams representing seven states and includes three teams from British Columbia, Canada.
Fourteen teams ranked in the top ten in their Respective CIF Southern Section divisions are slated to compete including Division 1-AA members Mater Dei (No. 1), Redondo (No. 2), Los Alamitos (No. 3), Lakewood (No. 4), Long Beach Poly (No. 7), Dana Hills (No. 9) and Marymount (No. 10).