Win gives Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball chance at title

Behind a titanic 75 assists from setter Clare Lund, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team thrust itself back into the Mission League title hunt Tuesday evening on senior night.

The Tologs rallied from a bitter and worrisome first-game defeat to topple Harvard-Westlake, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18, 26-24 in league play.

PHOTOS: Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy rallies to defeat Harvard-Westlake

With the victory, not only did Flintridge Sacred Heart (20-7 overall, 5-2 in league) avenge a 3-0 loss to the Wolverines (16-8, 5-3) in Studio City on Oct. 8, but the win also forged a tie for first place with Marymount (15-11, 5-2).

The Tologs can clinch a share of the league crown Thursday with a victory at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, while Marymount closes out with Marlborough the same evening.

While league records were important after Tuesday’s match, perhaps they weren’t as eye-popping as were the 75 assists tallied by Lund, a senior, who was somewhat stunned after the match.

“Really, I can’t believe it, that’s awesome,” said Lund, who added 10 digs and two dumps, when told of her tally. “That just shows you how great the hitting was tonight. I think my passing is pretty good, but believe me, I’m not getting that many assists unless our hitting is outstanding.”

The Tologs received at least one point from eight players Tuesday evening, but relied on an expected figure down the stretch.

Flintridge Sacred Heart pulled even at 22 in the fourth game on a kill from senior Ali McCollum, who finished with 13 kills.

Then it was the Lund-to-Lund show as Clare Lund fed teammate Kayla Lund, who led all scorers with 31 kills and 22 digs.

Kayla Lund gave the Tologs the lead, 23-22, with a blistering spike and later sent her team to match-point with a front-row kill as Flintridge Sacred Heart led, 25-24.

Kayla Lund closed out with a kill through the dig attempt of a Wolverines’ defender to deliver her team a 26-24 victory.

“This feels really, really good, we finally came back on them,” said Kayla Lund, a junior. “I love all the seniors on this team – Ali, Clara [Gross], Clare, Katie [Krappman] – this was for them. They worked so hard and now we have a chance to win league.”

The final game was the lone set where the lead changed hands frequently.

Despite not trailing for 132 of 136 possessions through the first three sets, the Tologs only maintained a 2-1 advantage over Harvard-Westlake.

Perhaps the most grueling sequence happened at the end of the first game, a set that Flintridge Sacred Heart never trailed or was tied in until a dump from Wolverines setter Kaira Muraoka-Robertson knotted the game at 24.

The point fueled a gut-wrenching 3-0 spurt from Harvard-Westlake, which stole the first game, 26-24.

“That was a tough one, especially because we were leading by five points late, too,” Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Ernest Banaag said. “We came back strong right after and it was great to see that energy.”

Flintridge Sacred Heart never fell behind in the second game and eventually won, 25-18, thanks to five kills from sophomore outside hitter Ellis DeJardin, who finished with 16 kills and 14 digs.

In the third game, the Tologs again built a healthy advantage midway through the set before securing a 25-18 victory on a block from Natalie Buntich.

For Harvard-Westlake, Chloe Mueller was terrific in finishing with 16 kills, while Josie Treadwell added 14 kills.