VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS : Poway Cruises; Palisades Stalls in the Opener

Don’t blame it on the diamond lane, Palisades girls’ volleyball Coach Gayle Van Meter isn’t.

Before Poway cruised to a 15-2, 15-9, 15-3 victory in the opening round of the Division I Southern California regionals Tuesday night at Poway, the van that was driving Palisades to Poway broke down in Carson. After an hour and 45-minute wait, their journey resumed, and they arrived 45 minutes before game time.

But while her team warmed up, Van Meter took one look at the Titans in practice and just shook her head, back and forth.

“They look pretty fired up, don’t they,” she said, then pointed to the crowd, dotted in Titan green and white. “Look at all that energy.”

Then she glanced over at the Los Angeles Section champion Dolphins and said, simply. “I can spot a losing team from a mile away.”

She didn’t have to look that far. Van Meter watched courtside as the two-time defending San Diego Section champion Poway gave Palisades a volleyball lesson.

Poway (20-0) isn’t looking past any match, it hopes to meet top-seeded Mira Costa, a team that defeated the Titans in four games in the first round last year. The Titans will play host to Corona del Mar, a 15-6, 15-12, 15-6 winner over Bakersfield, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

It took Poway, which has won 92 of 98 games this season, just under 15 minutes to win the first game. Senior Julie Schwan served 12 consecutive times to give the Titans a 12-0 lead. Palisades could squeeze just two points and five sideouts from the entire game.

Game two was closer. Down 5-1, Schwan served to tie the match 5-5, then Palisades made it 9-7, but Poway’s short sets and near-perfect serves by Christy Fortney, Heather Burke and Amy Boyer pulled them out of the game.

Leading, 11-3, in the third game, Heather Collins closed out the game and capped the solid serving, using a jump serve. Three were aces.

“I only use it if it’s going good in practice and when we’re ahead,” said Collins, a junior.

Poway Coach Lisa Reis said her team’s play has slowly risen throughout the season and tonight, it took one more step up.

“We went up another level tonight,” Reis said. So, how many are there left? Only one, she said.

“We only want one more level,” Reis said. “After Saturday, then that’s it.

Collins had 10 kills and three aces, Schwan had five aces and Heather Burke had seven kills.

Division II

Jennifer Meredith had 18 kills as Torrey Pines upset Simi Valley Royal, 15-8, 15-13, 15-8 at Simi Valley.

Royal (18-2) started the season unranked and went on to win the Southern Section 4A Division championship. But Torrey Pines, making its sixth state playoff appearance in nine years, put a halt to Royal, which was playing in the tournament for the first time.

Royal relied on its defense during the season, but found Torrey Pines (23-3) equally adept.

“They were picking up balls off the floor,” Royal Coach Bob Ferguson said. “That’s frustrating.”

Christi Peters had 12 kills and Amy Peters added 11 for Torrey Pines, whose three losses are to Poway.

Missy Clements had 15 kills to lead La Habra (19-1) to a 15-7, 15-6, 15-7 victory over visiting University of San Diego High School. USDHS (19-3) won the San Diego Section Division II championship.

Division I

Brentwood ended Francis Parker’s bid to win four consecutive state titles with a 15-6, 15-13, 17-15 victory at home.