Torrance Loses in Five Games to La Habra : Girls’ volleyball: Top-rated 3-A Division team is pushed to limit by Tartars, who finish 17-2.

Unseeded Torrance High gave the top-rated girls’ volleyball team in the 3-A Division all it could handle Thursday night before losing in five games.

Freeway League champion La Habra emerged from the semifinal match with an 8-15, 15-11, 16-14, 8-15, 15-8 victory in front of 450 in the South gym.

Torrance (17-2) showed its determination early, rallying from a 5-1 deficit with a 12-1 run that helped them win the first game.

“It seemed like our team did that all year,” Torrance Coach Marie Anderson said. “We came out strong in the first game, and they already knew we could play with them from last year, so I don’t think anyone was surprised that we kept coming back.”

The Highlanders (20-2) built a 10-5 lead in the second game before the Tartars rallied to tie the score, 11-11. But 6-foot-1 middle blocker Zrinka Kristich had four consecutive kills to win the game for La Habra.

Kristich was the deciding factor, with eight kills in the fifth game and 26 for the match.

“We put a three-man block at the net on her, which is very unusual for high school,” Anderson said. “That was our game tonight. We played very well at the net. We just had too many missed serves.”

Torrance fell behind, 6-2, in the fourth game, but rallied to tie the match, 2-2.

In the fifth game, the Tartars scored the first point, but never led again as La Habra won the match with an ace.

For Torrance, Suzanne Radcliff had 15 kills and seven blocks. Kim Blankenship had 13 kills and five blocks.