Bishop Montgomery Rallies for Division II Title

Miya Malauulu and the Bishop Montgomery High girls’ volleyball team followed a familiar path to the school’s first Southern Section title Saturday night.

On the brink of defeat, the Knights rallied for their third five-match victory in a row, outlasting Sunny Hills, 12-15, 15-8, 12-15, 15-8, 15-9, in a two-hour 45-minute Division II final at Cerritos College.

Malauulu, a 5-foot-8 senior defensive specialist, had a match-high 34 kills.

Bishop Montgomery (16-3) trailed, 8-3, in the fifth game before scoring 10 consecutive points to take a 13-8 lead.

“I was nervous as heck in the last game, but we’ve been down before,” said Malauulu, the Mission League most valuable player. “We’ve always come from behind.”

Case in point:

* The unseeded Knights overcame a 12-6 fifth-game deficit for a quarterfinal victory against Marina.

* Bishop Montgomery came from behind with the help of 31 kills and four aces from Malauulu to beat Huntington Beach in five games in the semifinals Thursday.

Senior outside hitter Natalie Graham added 11 kills as the Knights spoiled Sunny Hills’ attempt to become the fifth Freeway League team in a row to win a Southern Section volleyball title.

Rachel Hochgesang had 32 kills for Sunny Hills (19-2).

Bishop Montgomery will receive an automatic berth in the State Division II regional playoffs. Pairings will be announced today.

“This is the comeback team,” Bishop Montgomery Coach Kim Willeman said. “They always fire themselves up in the fifth game and stage a comeback.”

After trailing in the fourth game, the Knights scored six consecutive points to extend a 9-8 advantage and force a fifth game.

“Once we got to the fifth game, I knew we weren’t going to lose,” setter Becci Roehl said. “We didn’t play our best match, but we never lost hope.”

Bishop Montgomery trailed, 9-5, in the opening game. The Knights tied the score, 10-10, before Sunny Hills pulled away by scoring five of the next seven points.