VOLLEYBALL : Marshall Wastes No Time in Eliminating Garfield

Volleyball fans can typically look forward to a couple of hours of entertainment at most matches. But those who came out to see Garfield High against Marshall Tuesday ended up with a lot of free time on their hands.

Garfield was dismantled by top-seeded Marshall, 15-2, 15-0, 15-6 in a City Section 3-A Division semi-final match at Marshall that lasted a mere 52 minutes.

“(Marshall) is a superior team,” Garfield coach Bob Dorn said. “They played the game at a different level.”

Fifth-seeded Garfield ended a successful season at 13-3, and undefeated Marshall (16-0) advanced to play Fairfax in the City finals on Friday.

Garfield was blitzed by a 10-0 Marshall run to open the match, en route to a 15-2 first-game loss.

In the second game, Marshall--which had won 39 games in a row going into Friday’s finals--showed that defense was a big reason why they were undefeated this season.

The Barristers tallied seven blocks, including four for points, and shut out Garfield.

“That was one of our best defensive games this year,” Marshall coach Marji Donnatella said. “(Our) blocks kept disrupting Garfield’s flow on offense.”

After weathering a 10-0 run by Marshall at the start of the third game, Garfield found a rhythm.

The Bulldogs scored six of the next seven points behind Raul Briones, who led Garfield with four blocks, to trail 11-6.

But Garfield could not prevent Marshall from putting away the game, 15-6, with four consecutive points.