St. Monica Academy girls’ volleyball gets another test against top seed
En route to winning its first CIF Southern Section title, the St. Monica Academy girls’ volleyball team knocked off the top seed in the championship match.
The positive result helped earn the Crusaders a trip to the state tournament against the top seed.
Fifth-seeded St. Monica (25-4-2) will meet No. 1-seeded host Upland Christian Academy (25-7) in the second round of the CIF State Division V Southern California Regional playoffs at 7 p.m. Saturday at Rancho Cucamonga High.
“It will be fun and you wouldn’t want it any other way than to play the No. 1 seed,” said St. Monica Coach Darren Bradley, whose team beat top-seeded Tarbut V’Torah in the CIF Southern Section Division V-Achampionship match before beginning the state tournament Tuesday with a 25-12, 26-24, 22-25, 20-25, 15-8 road win against fourth-seeded Verdugo Hills. “We’re going up against a great team and you know where you’ll stand.
“We showed a mental toughness against Verdugo Hills, even though we were emotionally drained from winning the championship Saturday.”
St. Monica will get a crack at Upland Christian, which won the Division V-AA championship against Santa Clarita Christian, though it will likely be short-handed.
Bradley confirmed that starting senior outside hitter Kayla Grimm will not play due to a previous engagement. The Crusaders, who won the International League championship, might also be without starting junior setter/outside hitter Molly Hagen because of a previous commitment, but Bradley said she might return in time to participate at some point in the match.
“We’ll have to see about Molly,” Bradley said. “Our lineup could look very different, along with what we might run with our offense.”
Hagen finished with 10 kills and six aces against Verdugo Hills, which won the L.A. City Section Division III title.
The Crusaders will have senior outside hitter Therese Boles in the lineup, as she’ll reportedly return just in time from a family engagement. Boles collected 10 kills and five aces against Verdugo Hills.
Upland Christian, which finished first in the Arrowhead League, began its run in the state playoffs Tuesday with a 25-11, 25-14, 25-10 home win against eighth-seeded San Diego Madison. The Eagles received 10 kills from senior right side hitter Jordyn Pugh, eight kills from senior outside hitter Rachel Holmes and 21 assists and eight aces from sophomore setter/opposite hitter Brooke Madkin.
Upland Christian Coach Micah Langston, whose team swept Glendale Adventist Academy in the second round of the playoffs, said the Eagles will receive a stiff test from the Crusaders.
“Hats off to St. Monica for winning its CIF title and then the first round of state,” Langston said. “They have some excellent players and it will be special to be able to play them.
“With our team, it’s about always staying hungry. We’re still hungry after winning CIF. We know we’ll have to be ready for St. Monica.”
The winner will take on second-seeded Santa Clarita Christian or third-seeded Frazier Mountain in a regional final at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The state championship for all five divisions will be played Dec. 5 at Santiago Canyon College in Orange.
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Charles Rich, charles.rich@latimes.com
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
