Westlake Sweeps Away Bad Memory to Win Title

Finally, they can forget.

Westlake High swept Lakewood St. Joseph, 15-6, 15-10, 15-7, Saturday in the Southern Section Division II-A girls’ volleyball championship, and maybe more important, can sweep away memories of a five-game loss in last year’s title match.

Heather Hutchison had 20 kills and only three hitting errors for the top-seeded Warriors (33-3), who made sure not to blow a two-game lead like they did a year ago against Santa Margarita.

“Last year, we kind of choked,” Westlake setter Brooke Rundle said. “This year, we focused on what we wanted and went after it.”

The Warriors were sharp on defense, efficient on offense and even received help from a bobby pin.

Second-seeded St. Joseph, which had not lost a game in the playoffs until Saturday, trailed in a close second game, 13-10, and had apparently sided out.

But Sophia Martin, who was checking in as a sub, was wearing a bobby pin and was cited by the referee. Southern Section rules prohibit players from wearing sharp objects in their hair.

Because the Jesters (16-4) did not have any timeouts left, Westlake was awarded possession of the ball and scored the final two points of the game.

“I’ve been laying on them all year about that,” St. Joseph Coach Mike Hinton said of the bobby pin incident. “It was a big momentum shift and [Westlake] came back and scored two quick points. I knew that wasn’t the time for that.”

St. Joesph, an undersized but scrappy team, had a rough time stopping Hutchison and 6-foot-1 opposite hitter Courtney Miller, who had 12 kills in her second match back since undergoing foot surgery.

Miller, who said she is close to committing to Arkansas, served four consecutive aces in the first game to give the Warriors a 12-6 lead.

The only question left after the match was where Westlake should be seeded for the state playoffs, which begin Tuesday.

Getting the top seed in Division II is a possibility for the Warriors.

“We should have a lot of home games,” Westlake Coach Chris Rundle said.

For now, they’ll take their first sectional title and forget about last year.

Said Westlake outside hitter Megan Mullen, who had eight kills: “It’s a lot better when you win.”