Parker Advances to Division III Semis

Francis Parker Coach Doug Huffman didn’t see his usual playoff-tough team Tuesday night in the first round of the state Division III girls’ volleyball playoffs.

His starting seniors, Amy and Jill Meier, weren’t on their games, and his juniors and sophomores seemed to feel the playoff pressure.

But junior reserve Sarah Tubbesing apparently was numb to it all as she came up with big serve after big serve in the deciding fifth game to pull out a 15-13, 7-15, 15-8, 11-15, 15-10 victory for Francis Parker over visiting San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno.

“I think we were a little nervous,” Huffman said. “We started off pretty slow and didn’t do a very good job of controlling the ball. This was not one of our best games.”

Parker advanced into Saturday’s semifinals against Winward Mar Vista or Mammoth.

In the deciding fifth game, Tubbesing, a defensive specialist who does not start, served three aces and was partly responsible for another four Parker points.

“She served to specific areas and took them out of their offense,” Huffman said.”

Parker (22-1) led, 7-3, early in the fifth game, but sloppy net play let San Joaquin (20-7) back in the game. But with the score tied at eight, sophomore Paula McNamee had a kill and a block to give Parker back the lead, 10-8. Then at 11-8, Tubbesing then served three consecutive winning points.

Parker had an opportunity to put the match away after four games as it held an 11-10 lead. But the Lancers had trouble handling San Joaquin’s Renae Chavez’s serves and lost the last five points of the game.