Glendale Adventist Academy volleyball begins state drive with sweep
BURBANK — A little more than a week removed from winning its first CIF Southern Section Division championship, the Glendale Adventist Academy girls’ volleyball team began its drive for another title Saturday night.
The long layoff didn’t seem to bother top-seeded Glendale Adventist, which began the CIF State Division V Tournament with a second-round match against eighth-seeded Maywood CES following a first-round bye.
Elyse Knipschild registered 11 kills and Paige Singleton added 10 to lift Glendale Adventist Academy to a 25-15, 25-10, 25-13 win at Providence High.
Glendale Adventist (23-5) will meet fourth-seeded Carnegie Schools of Riverside, which knocked off fifth-seeded Santa Clarita Christian on Saturday, in a quarterfinal match at 7 p.m. Tuesday at a site to be determined. Glendale Adventist, which captured the CIF Southern Section Division IX crown against Santa Clarita Christian on Nov. 10, will be the home team.
“It’s just great to get back out there and play again, though the long break did us some good in terms of being able to rest a little bit and get in some good practices,” said Glendale Adventist coach Gared Luquet, who got 31 assists and 12 digs from Liana Salvador. “I liked the way we were able to come back and play with a lot of consistency.
“It’s great to win CIF and we’ll try to make some more history. It’s been a long season, but nobody is tired. We’re enjoying it more and more.”
Glendale Adventist was in control throughout against Maywood CES, which won the L.A. City Section Division IV championship.
Knipschild, a freshman outside hitter, set the tone early for the Cougars, who tied for second in the Liberty League. Knipschild finished with six kills and one ace in the first set.
“Our coaches scouted [Maywood CES] and we wanted to get right on them,” said Knipschild, who contributed eight digs and three aces. “The middle was open a lot and we were able to go there and get a lot of points.
“It’s been a life-changing experience winning CIF and we just want to keep going from here. We came out very focused and I was locked in in that first set.”
A kill by Knipschild gave the Cougars a 6-1 lead. Glendale Adventist made it 14-4 on a kill by Singleton. The Cougars closed out the set on a 7-2 run that included a pair of kills from Knipschild.
The Cougars and Wolfpack (20-10) were tied at 5 before the Cougars went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-5 lead. Salvador had five aces in that stretch to pave the way.
Singleton registered four kills down the stretch to give the Cougars a 2-0 advantage.
Determined to record the sweep, Glendale Adventist jumped out to a 8-4 lead in the third set on a kill down the middle by Knipschild. Knipschild later added a kill to extend the lead to 17-9 before a kill by Natalie Gregg sealed the victory.
Singleton also collected nine digs and two aces.
“We got a lot of good performances and Elyse showed how to play with consistency,” Luquet said. “Maywood is a scrappy team and we knew we had to come out and dictate the flow.”
Maywood CES received seven kills from Gabriela Bayardo and six from Cassidy Chaly.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
