Royal Delivers a Message With Sweep of Westlake

For a team that claimed it was not looking ahead, the Royal High girls’ volleyball team played most of its Marmonte League match with Westlake on Tuesday night with an eye toward Thousand Oaks.

The Highlanders swore that Tuesday night’s 15-13, 15-7, 15-6 win at home was their top priority, not Thursday night’s showdown against league rival Thousand Oaks. Royal and Thousand Oaks tied for the league championship last season before Royal went on to win the Southern Section 4-A Division championship.

So if Royal (5-0 overall, 3-0 in league play) was focused on the Westlake match, why did Coach Bob Ferguson tinker with his lineup during the three-game sweep?

“I was trying things out,” he said. “We have a big game Thursday and I wanted to try some new combinations.”

The tinkering almost cost Royal. The Highlanders jumped to a 12-0 lead in the first game but lost 13 of the game’s last 16 points. Nearly all of the points for Westlake (2-3, 1-2) came on unforced Royal errors.

“All we had to do to win the match was keep the ball in their court,” Westlake Coach Linda Mills said. “They were hitting the ball long all night.”

Royal fell behind, 6-5, in the second and third games but won each with a strong finish. Royal’s Wende Brown, last season’s 4-A player of the year, was held to five kills, but anchored a defense that allowed only three dropped balls.