Fountain Valley Beats Capistrano Valley

It was Summer time in November, Saturday at Cypress College, in the Division I-A final of the Southern Section girls’ volleyball tournament.

Summer Altice had four kills and two aces to lead Fountain Valley on a 7-0 scoring run that gave the Barons a 10-8 lead in the first game and made them forget about their pre-match jitters against Capistrano Valley.

Top-seeded Fountain Valley then calmly took the match, 15-12, 15-7, 15-10, to win the school’s first Southern Section volleyball title.

The last time the Baron girls appeared in a Southern Section final was 1993, and Altice, then a freshman, used that experience to prepare current teammates.

Altice came to practice last week armed with photos that were taken after Fountain Valley lost in the 1993 final to Los Alamitos--most of the Baron players were crying.

“That’s not going to be us,” the current Baron squad decided after looking at the photos.

Altice was especially determined.

“I would have done anything to win that match,” she said.

Altice played well, finishing with 10 kills and four aces. Larissa Carter also was a big factor with 13 kills, many coming on a play called “the slide” that Capistrano Valley could not stop.

“We knew that was going to happen,” Capistrano Valley Coach John Gipe said.

Fountain Valley defeated Capistrano Valley in four games in a season-opening match. But in the final, Gipe said Fountain Valley looked “a lot more polished.”

Capistrano Valley came back to take an 11-10 lead in the first game, but Fountain Valley never lost composure. The Barons tied the score on a Capistrano Valley hitting error, then Melissa Plass and Altice each had a kill to give Fountain Valley a 13-11 lead.

Another Cougar hitting error brought up game point, which Cougar Kristen Smith saved with a kill. Kristen Gallup had another kill for a point for the Cougars.

Then Altice had a kill for a sideout and won the game with an ace jump-serve.

Fountain Valley broke a 7-7 tie in the second game and gave up no more points in the game. The Barons took a 4-0 lead in the third game and the Cougars never got closer than two points after that.

With the victory, the Barons, 18-2, earned an automatic berth to the state tournament, which begins Tuesday. Fountain Valley Coach Lori Biller may miss some of that tournament, however, because she and her husband, Tracy, are expecting their first child in the next week.

“I have a great assistant [Chris Gonzales] and he can take over if I need to leave,” Biller said.

It was the first appearance for Capistrano Valley (17-4) in the Southern Section final.

“I guess you have to get there to figure it out,” Gipe said.