DIVISION IV GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL : Calvary Chapel Wins Second Title

Calvary Chapel rolled to its second consecutive Southern Section championship Saturday at Cypress College, but no one was taking any bows.

Courtney Owens had 20 kills and Jenny Roberts had eight kills and five blocks to lead Calvary Chapel to a 15-4, 15-6, 15-6 victory over Santa Ynez in the Division IV final. Last season, the Eagles won the Division V championship.

“There are no individuals on this team,” Lynn Lovingier said. “We’re all so close. It seems like the championship just fell into place.”

Said Owens: “The experience from last season helped a lot. We just went out and did what we had to do.”

Setter Kensy Zulueta had 33 assists. When Santa Ynez’s defense tried to key on Owens or Jenny Roberts, Sara Roberts helped to keep them honest with five kills.

Lovingier, who also had five kills and a team-high eight digs, has orally committed to Tennessee. Lovingier and Owens, who has committed to Colorado, will be the first female athletes from Calvary Chapel to receive Division I scholarships.

Although the top-seeded Eagles (17-4) were favored, the lopsided victory over third-seeded Santa Ynez (19-3) took Calvary Chapel Coach Jim Downey by surprise.

“I was expecting a tough match,” Downey said. “But this team has been focused throughout the playoffs. No one has scored more than eight points in a game against us in the playoffs. Everyone has stepped it up.”

Calvary Chapel’s defense frustrated Santa Ynez’s attack throughout the match.

“We weren’t mentally focused,” Santa Ynez senior Meighan Jackson said. “Their defense was really good and their quick hits were hard to block.”

Meanwhile, Jenny Roberts was busy stuffing Pirate middle blocker Meghan Mosebar. Three times in the match, Roberts blocked Mosebar, who has orally committed to Purdue. Mosebar finished with only seven kills.

“This is the best team we’ve had in some time,” Santa Ynez Coach Kit Myers said. “But we’ll never be able to compete with a team that plays at that level.”

But the Pirates were close in Game 3. After a Kristen Farnum ace put Santa Ynez one point behind, Owens took over.

She dinked for a side out, then Zulueta served out the final eight points of the match.

Owens had three kills in the run, and two hitting errors by Santa Ynez’s Ariana Kemnitzer closed out the match.

The championship for the Eagles was part of the payoff of a tough nonleague schedule that Downey set up for his team. Calvary Chapel’s four losses came against Newport Harbor and Stockton St. Mary’s (Division I), San Jose Archbishop Mitty (III), and Los Angeles Brentwood (V). All are CIF section finalists.

“Yeah, those losses showed us that we hate to lose,” Lovingier said.