Flintridge Sacred Heart volleyball sweeps aside Eagles
LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE — Things have begun to take shape for the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team after a slow beginning.
Should the Tologs qualify for the playoffs, or at least make a push for the postseason, they might look back on the two Mission League matches that they won this week as a turning point in their season.
“We feel like this might be a turnaround week for us in league,” Flintridge Sacred Heart first-year Coach Ernest Banaag said after the host Tologs posted a 25-21, 25-18, 25-18 league win Thursday night. “We are still young, but, if you do relax, we will get you.
“We are going out there with nothing to lose. This has been a big week and we have to keep playing to our potential.”
The Tologs (6-8, 3-2 in league) entered Thursday’s match fresh off posting a four-game league win against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on the road Tuesday. Notre Dame, the defending league champion, was ranked No. 8 in the latest CIF Southern Section Division I-A poll.
The win against Notre Dame carried over into the Chaminade match, in which the Tologs dominated most of the time.
Flintridge Sacred Heart got 10 kills from Maddie Peterson and 16 assists from Sophia Coffey to beat Chaminade (4-9, 1-4) for the second time this season. Flintridge Sacred Heart beat Chaminade in four games in September in the Gahr Tournament.
“I think we are proving how well we can play,” said Peterson, who is also a member of the school’s cross-country team. “We wanted to make sure we kept our energy up after the win against Notre Dame.
“These two games are definitely going to be confidence boosters.”
A kill by Peterson gave Flintridge Sacred Heart a 12-11 advantage in the first game. The Eagles closed to within 22-21 on a service error, but the Tologs finished up on a 3-1 run, capped by a kill by Megan Bacall.
Flintridge Sacred Heart started off the second game on a 9-2 run. Ali McCollum recorded a kill to give the Tologs a 13-7 lead.
Katie Conley of Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy had a kill to give the Tologs an 11-6 lead in the deciding third game. Chaminade cut the deficit to 14-13, but Flintridge Sacred Heart closed out the match on an 11-5 run.
Flintridge Sacred Heart received 13 assists from Katherine Villegas, 10 digs from Colleen Degnan and eight blocks from Bacall.
Flintridge Sacred Heart will next participate in the Ayala Tournament Friday and Saturday.
The Tologs and Eagles will meet again at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at Chaminade.
