STATE VOLLEYBALL DIVISION II : La Jolla Fails to Overcome La Habra Height Advantage
When top-seeded La Habra High School played La Jolla in the first round of the Southern California Division II playoffs Tuesday night, it wasn’t just a ho-hum victory by La Habra. It was more like ho-hum-yawn.
Powered by middle-hitter Missy Clements’ 14 kills, La Habra swept La Jolla, 15-4, 15-4, 15-7.
“Missy was hot early so we tried to got to her a little more,” La Habra Coach Sandy Blumenthal said.
Early? The entire match lasted just 75 minutes. The second game took 15 minutes.
La Jolla (20-10) had trouble spiking past 6-foot-5 Zrinka Kristich, 6-2 Ana Kristich and 5-11 Clements.
“They really didn’t have anybody who could just put the ball away,” Blumenthal said. “It was pretty obvious that we just had too many hitters for them.”
Indeed, Zrinka Kristich had 12 kills and Ana Kristich had eight to add to Clements’ 14. Maybe that’s why La Habra (23-0) has won 42 consecutive matches and is the two-time Division 3-A champions and the defending Division II State Champions.
La Habra will play Bakersfield Highland, which defeated Long Beach St. Anthony, 14-16, 15-6, 13-15, 15-10, 15-9, on Saturday at La Habra.
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