Harvard-Westlake Sweeps With Minutes to Spare

Christine Bohle had to study for a U.S. History test and Bettina Korek had tons of homework to do.

Good time for a sweep, Harvard-Westlake style.

The Wolverines rapidly disposed of Lakewood St. Joseph, 15-7, 15-7, 15-4, Tuesday night in a quarterfinal match of the Southern Section Division II girls’ volleyball playoffs.

The Wolverines, who swept Saugus last Saturday in 52 minutes, needed only 59 minutes to bounce visiting St. Joseph.

Keep this up, and the Wolverines could find themselves on “60 Minutes.”

Next for second-seeded Harvard-Westlake (21-1) is a date with third-seeded Long Beach Wilson in Thursday’s semifinals.

The only real drama was the first game, when the seventh-seeded Jesters (12-5) sprinted to a 7-0 lead behind the strength of three aces.

But Harvard-Westlake called timeout, then went out and reversed its poor service receiving.

The Wolverines even countered with three aces and scored 15 consecutive points.

“We were really excited and came out with a lot of adrenaline,” said Bohle, who had seven kills. “But we were able to settle down.”

Harvard-Westlake remained calm in the second game, watching a 6-1 lead evaporate into a 7-7 tie before scoring the last eight points.

Two kills by Bohle and an ace and two kills by Korek, who had six in the match, were helpful.

“They’re relaxed, they’re not cocky,” Harvard-Westlake Coach Jess Quiroz said of his players. “If the girls just go out and execute, we should be OK.”

If the Wolverines continue their balanced attack, they should be more than OK.

In addition to Bohle and Korek, Malaika Naulls had eight kills, Lesley Coben had seven and Lindsay McNiel had five.

“We lost to a better team,” said St. Joseph Coach Chris Gonzalez, who received seven kills from Nicole Wright. “I don’t know if they have any weaknesses. I didn’t see any.”

Of course, he didn’t have long to look.