Flintridge Sacred Heart volleyball falters against Marymount
LA CAÑADA — To the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team’s chagrin, the first game of its Mission League match with visiting Marymount was not indicative of the subsequent ones.
The Tologs possessed total control of the opening game and took it convincingly.
However, they would hold the lead on eight points total over the next three games and did not score more than three straight points at any point throughout the remainder of the match, as Marymount ramped up its defense and made the necessary adjustments to claim victory, 16-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-23, Thursday night at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy.
PHOTOS: Tologs girls’ volleyball falls to Marymount
The Tologs fell to 1-1 in league play, while Thursday marked the Mustangs’ league opener. The second meeting between the schools is on Oct. 20 at Marymount.
“They’re a great team with great coaching and they made the necessary adjustments,” said Tologs Coach Ernest Banaag, whose squad fell to 7-5 overall this season. “Our adjustments came late and I’m responsible as head coach of this program; that’s my fault. When you play that well [in the first game], you think we can get it back.”
Clare Lund paced the Tologs with 38 assists and 12 digs, with Katie Krappman following with 11 assists. Kayla Lund led the team with 23 kills on 54 swings, along with 11 digs. Ali McCollum matched DeJardin with seven. Tori Conlon complemented with six.
After a first game in which the Tologs trailed only on the opening point of the match and secured nine of the final 11 points to clinch it, Marymount responded to the tune of maintaining momentum and flow from taking a 4-3 lead early in the second game to a third game in which it held the lead for every point, but the second when the Tologs tied it one apiece.
The Tologs got things going early in the opening game with confident play that aided in staying ahead of the Sailors for most of the way, with the opening point and two tie scores over the first four points serving as outliers. Marymount used a 7-3 run midway through to cut a 13-7 deficit down to 16-14, prompting a Flintridge Sacred Heart timeout. Banaag’s words resonated, as the Tologs responded with four unanswered to retake the comfortable cushion en route to winning the game.
In the second game, the Tologs were unable to cut the deficit lower than three as the game took form. After an emphatic kill from Ellis DeJardin in stride from the left side, bringing FSHA within four at the 16-12 mark, the Sailors notched six of the next nine points to build a 22-15 advantage.
Flintridge Sacred Heart’s struggles continued in the third game, trailing by as many as 10 points. A spirited late rally by the Tologs, finishing the game outscoring Marymount 9-5 highlighted by four kills from Kayla Lund, was not enough to overcome the double-digit margin.
A gripping and tightly contested fourth game that saw 12 tie scores and three as the largest lead from either side went to the Sailors. DeJardin’s consecutive aces earlier in the game to give the Tologs a 17-15 lead was the first time since the second game FSHA played from ahead. Lund’s sixth kill of the game shortly after gave them an 18-17 lead. Marymount, however, came back with clutch points consistently, scoring four unanswered.
“That’s the way it should be,” said Banaag when asked about the remarkable fourth game. “If the second and third were like that, the match would be even more exciting.”
The Tologs will travel to La Cañada High on Saturday night and visit West Ranch for another nonleague match before resuming league play at rival Harvard-Westlake on Oct. 8. Banaag predicts the league to be formidable top to bottom.
“For us, it’s about believing we are the better team,” said Banaag, who led the Tologs to a share of the league title in 2013. “I truly believe we are better [than Marymount]. Plain and simple.”