STATE DIVISION II VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : Clements Stays Around to Lead La Habra Sweep

Missy Clements wasn’t as worried about La Habra High School winning the State Division II girls’ volleyball title as she was about surviving the first game.

Clements, who injured her knee in the first game of last year’s final and never returned, had 14 kills, three blocks and two aces to lead La Habra to a 15-5, 15-1, 15-5 victory over King City in the championship match Saturday night at Cal Poly Pomona.

“We were standing on the in-line after the first game and I told myself, ‘Cool, you’ve actually made it to the second game,’ ” said Clements, a senior middle blocker. “This was very exciting for me. It meant a lot.”

It was the second consecutive title for La Habra (26-0), which extended its two-year winning streak to 45 matches.

The victory also gave La Habra its seventh three-game sweep in its past eight matches. Bakersfield Highland pushed the Highlanders to four games in the state quarterfinals.

“I expected more toughness from (King City),” Clements said. “I don’t know if they came out frozen or what.”

Clements caused King City several problems in the first game. She had seven kills and a block. Zrinka Kristich added four kills and an ace.

La Habra’s serving took over in the second game. The Highlanders had six aces, including three by Zrinka Kristich.

La Habra had 14 aces in the match, including seven by Zrinka Kristich, who had the flu.

“Zrinka got pretty peppy out there after she got those aces,” La Habra Coach Sandy Blumenthal said. “She had been sick for a few days and missed two days of practice. Yesterday was the first day she had played.

“I think this match might have helped her get over her sickness.”

King City Coach Debbie Hudson said La Habra’s serving surprised her players.

“I anticipated they would be powerful and very accurate,” Hudson said, “but their serving was really a surprise.

“A lot of the teams La Habra played this year said they weren’t that good. I said, ‘Yeah, right.’ ”

King City (23-4) led only once, 4-1 in the third game. But La Habra went on a 14-1 run, sparked by Ana Kristich’s five kills.

Clements and Zrinka Kristich were named to the all-tournament team along with La Habra setter Lisa Almanza and Ana Kristich, who had 10 kills. Amy McMahon had eight kills to lead King City.

“This was a great way for us to end the season,” Blumenthal said. “This was the fewest amount of errors (10) that we’ve had all year.

“This team is very special. Not many coaches have the opportunity to coach a team like this.”