HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL : La Jolla Bench Fills the Gap as Vikings Pick Up Tournament Victory

If this is unity, what must division look like?

With five of its senior starters out taking the Scholastic Aptitude Test, the La Jolla girls’ volleyball team didn’t look poised to win the Golden Eagle Classic at San Pasqual High.

But that’s exactly what La Jolla did Saturday night. And the Vikings credited the victory to unity.

“We depended on all our players to get us out of pool play,” said La Jolla Coach Vicki Eveleth, who watched much of her bench win three morning matches before the seniors returned later in the day to win three more. “They all played. They all had a part in this.”

This was a 15-8, 15-6 victory over Grossmont for the tournament championship, a week after La Jolla (18-3) finished second in the Serra Tournament and four days after the Vikings lost an unexpected City Western League game to University City.

“This will help our confidence, or it should,” Eveleth said. “For these girls, so much of (winning) depends on confidence. They had to have it in themselves, in their teammates and in their coach.”

Against Grossmont (15-4), confidence seemed at an all-time high.

La Jolla had ousted top-seeded Escondido, a team the Vikings had lost to earlier in the year, in the semifinals, 15-4, 15-8, and was ready for Grossmont, who reached the championship with a 16-14, 15-7 victory over San Dieguito.

Especially effective was middle blocker Misha Willoughby, who repeatedly drilled the ball down the middle and rendered Grossmont helpless to stop her.

Southwest Tournament

Behind the play of Kielty Gallagher, Bishop’s defeated Sweetwater, 15-6, to win the championship of the Southwest Tournament. Gallagher was named to the all-tournament team. Bishop’s downed Calvin Christian, 15-4, in the semifinals and University City, 16-14, in the quarterfinals.