Providence High girls’ volleyball falls short of reaching first CIF final
ANAHEIM — There was not much history in the CIF Southern Section girls’ volleyball semifinals to fall back on for Providence High or Katella when the teams met Tuesday evening with a berth in the Division VIII championship at stake.
The Pioneers were making just their second appearance in the semifinals, while the Knights had never advanced to the final four in their history.
It was a close battle in the contest early, as the squads were tied through two games. However, Katella took control late to win the the third game and used a big run in the fourth to close out the contest against visiting Providence, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 25-19.
For the Pioneers (20-8), it was their first final-four berth since 2006, when, under current coach James Jimenez, they fell in three games to Arrowhead Christian.
Tying for third in the Liberty League and securing a place in the postseason only after winning a coin flip, Providence had played its best volleyball of the season in the playoffs. The Pioneers made their way to the semifinals after defeating No. 1 Gladstone in four games Saturday.
“I am really surprised at how far we’ve been able to come this season,” said Providence junior Talia Patterson, who paced the Pioneers with 19 kills to go along with 16 digs. “We’ve just come together and we just started playing well as a team.
“This team has just worked so hard, especially in the playoffs. We really wanted to get to the CIF championship.”
Despite the loss to Katella (21-5), the Orange League champion, the Pioneers’ season didn’t come to an end. By qualifying for the semifinals, Providence earned a spot in the state playoffs, which will begin next week.
“We wanted to make history at Providence and be the first volleyball team to make it to a CIF championship,” Jimenez said. “But this team did make history, because it is the first volleyball team to make it to the state playoffs. … That’s something the girls can be proud of.”
Ava Midkiff added 10 kills and seven digs for the Pioneers, who also received six kills and six blocks from Sarah Cox and 33 assists from Alyssa Camacho.
The Pioneers looked shaky in the opening game, but still held an early lead against the Knights, 6-3. But Katella, led by Gabby Meza (team-high 17 kills), went on a 5-0 run to grab an 8-6 lead. Katella slowly increased its lead the remainder of the game, as the Pioneers tried to regroup.
“I think a lot of us were nervous in that first game,” Patterson said. “Just the idea that we had a chance to get to a CIF championship with the win, I think that got into our heads.”
It appeared the Pioneers were on their way to a loss in the second game and a two-set deficit when they fell behind 12-4. But Providence rebounded and made a stake for the lead. Providence was finally able to erase the deficit and take the lead, 20-19, following a Katella rotation error. The Pioneers increased their advantage to 23-20 and held off the Knights down the stretch to knot the match at 1.
Things were tight late in the third game, as the teams were tied at 19. But the Knights rattled off three straight points to take a 22-19 advantage. Katella closed out the game with a kill from Mylei Vargas-Deason (11 kills).
With the score tied at 9 in the fourth game, the Knights went on an 11-3 run to take a 19-12 lead. Providence cut the advantage to four at 22-18, but that would be as close as it would get the rest of the way.
“I think the teams were pretty evenly matched, other than their outside hitters were a little bit tougher,” Jimenez said. “We struggled a bit with our serve-receive and I think that was the big difference in the match.”
