STATE VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Calvary Chapel Fails to Pass Finals Test : Division IV: San Jose Archbishop Mitty uses tournament experience to win title.

They hadn’t been pushed, and didn’t have enough with which to push back.

Calvary Chapel’s hopes of a State girls’ volleyball championship were dashed Saturday afternoon by San Jose Archbishop Mitty, which had survived several tough tests throughout the season, a foreign concept to the Eagles.

That experience, combined with the Monarchs’ dominating physical attributes, led to Archbishop Mitty’s 15-12, 15-8, 12-15, 18-16 victory at Titan Gym.

Calvary Chapel, making its first State championship appearance, had only one loss and one five-game match coming into the tournament--both against Division V State champion Brentwood.

“When it came down to crucial points, a lot of times we weren’t able to go after them,” Calvary Chapel Coach Jim Downey said.

After, or over them. The Monarchs (29-6), who had never gotten past the second round of the Northern California playoffs, have three players 6 feet or taller.

“We weren’t going to be able to grow any bigger overnight,” Downey said, “so we had to serve tough and dig a lot of balls, which got us into the match in the third game.”

Spotty play in that game kept the Eagles from forcing a fifth.

But Calvary Chapel (22-2) did reach pretty far within to get to Game 4, after the Eagles found themselves down, 6-0, in the third.

They pulled to 10-5, then took an 11-10 lead behind the play of Courtney Owens and Lynn Lovingier.

“Lynn came in and really sparked the team,” Downey said.

The Monarchs took a 12-11 lead, but Calvary Chapel closed out the game with a kill by Kensy Zuleta, a block by Beth Prigmore, an ace by Owens and a red card on Archbishop Mitty for taking a time out it didn’t have.

In the fourth game, the Eagles fell behind early, 4-0, 7-1, and 11-3, before staging their comeback. Still, the Monarchs had their first match point at 14-10.

Calvary Chapel held off four match points before taking a 16-15 lead and had its own game point, which was spoiled by a hitting violation. Archbishop Mitty took a 17-16 lead on a block by tournament MVP Kerri Walsh, who had a match-high 22 kills, and on the sixth match point, two Eagle players went after a set that neither could return.

Owens led Calvary Chapel with 20 kills, Lovingier had 12--five in the third game--and Sara Roberts added 10. Setter Kati French, one of two seniors for the Eagles, had 45 assists.