Harvard-Westlake Feat Has Familiar Ring to It

Was this 1995?

The Harvard-Westlake High girls’ volleyball team thought it was.

San Luis Obispo, the Wolverines’ opponent Friday night in the Southern Section Division III-A championship match, wore the same black-and-gold jerseys as last year’s title-match opponent, Bishop Montgomery.

Not to mention it was the same locale--Cypress College--and nearly identical bass drum sounds, courtesy this time of the San Luis Obispo percussion band.

“Way reminiscent,” said Wolverine middle blocker Malaika Naulls.

Fortunately for Harvard-Westlake, the result was also the same, a 6-15, 15-9, 15-12, 15-10 victory, which meant a sectional title for the second year in a row.

A key was the semi-containment of San Luis Obispo middle blocker Heather Wintermeyer, who had 51 kills in a four-game semifinal victory Tuesday over South Hills.

Wintermeyer, who has committed to American University, had 41 kills for the second-seeded Tigers (15-2), but tired as the match wore on.

She was the unquestionable key in the beginning and scored from everywhere but the snack bar--back row, middle, outside. She had 11 of the Tigers’ 13 first-game kills and did not have an error.

Harvard-Westlake, which had won every game in three previous playoff matches, had time for one thought: Huh?

“They were going, ‘What? How come we’re losing to these shrimps?’ ” said San Luis Obispo Coach Steve Burmaster.

The Wolverines, who begin defense of their State Division III title Tuesday, were also thinking how they’d already been through this. Last year against Bishop Montgomery, they dropped the first game, but won the match in four.

“It was a sign of God,” Naulls said. “We were going to win the next three.”

In the second game, the top-seeded Wolverines (17-1) put up double and triple blocks at Wintermeyer and put themselves back into the match.

Game three marked the return to form of Harvard-Westlake swing hitter Christine Bohle, who missed last week’s quarterfinals and played only four rotations in Tuesday’s semifinals because of a sprained left ankle.

She was ineffective in the first game, began to heat up in the second and came through in the third with six kills. Bohle finished with 12.

Outside hitter Nicole Carrico delivered eight of her 18 kills in the fourth game.