Torrance Overwhelms Canyon in Volleyball

The Canyon High girls’ volleyball team used a high-octane attack all season to roll up a 16-0 record and sail into the quarterfinals of the Southern Section 3-A Division playoffs.

But Tuesday night, the fourth-seeded Cowboys ran into a Torrance team with an even more supercharged offense and the result was a season-ending 15-4, 15-11, 9-15, 15-7 loss for host Canyon.

Torrance (17-1 and ranked fifth in the 3-A Division) received a 22-kill, 17-assist performance from junior setter-outside hitter Suzanne Radcliffe.

“Every match, it’s been a different person who had led us,” Torrance Coach Marie Anderson said.

But while it might have been Radcliffe’s turn to star, hers was far from a solo effort. Junior outside hitter Kim Blankinship scored 14 kills and sparked a defensive effort that neutralized Canyon’s powerful attack. Junior outside hitter Kim Nuechterlain added 12 kills.

The Tartars held Gina Sanchez, Canyon’s talented 6-foot-1 middle blocker, to just five kills and three blocks. Senior outside hitter Juli Mosier was limited to 13 kills for Canyon.

“That’s the best team we’ve seen so far,” Canyon Coach Linda Johnston said. “They were hitting from all sides.”

Torrance dominated early, taking a 6-0 first-game lead by controlling virtually every aspect of play. Keri Lemasters brought Canyon back to 6-4 with an ace and a service winner in a four-point run, but then the Tartars pulled away behind their superior hitting and defense.

Canyon fell behind again, 5-0, in the second game before the blocking of Susan Brondell and the serving of Lisa Brussard pulled the Cowboys into a 6-6 tie. But that was as close as the Cowboys would get. Torrance gradually pulled to a 13-11 lead before a kill from the weakside by Radcliffe and an ace by Jenny Yokohama gave the Tartars a two-game lead.

After winning the third game, Canyon overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth to pull within 14-7 before Yokohama ended the Cowboys’ season with a block on Sanchez.

PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: C9