Harvard-Westlake Gets Rerun

It’s entirely possible this could be 1996.

As it did two years ago, Harvard-Westlake High swept away Exeter, 15-3, 15-3, 15-1, on Tuesday night in a first-round match of the girls’ volleyball Division III state tournament.

The match lasted 46 minutes, about a third of the time of a typical Harvard-Westlake practice, and sent the Wolverines into the quarterfinals Saturday against a familiar foe, Notre Dame Academy, whom the Wolverines (20-5) swept last Saturday to win the Southern Section Division III-A championship.

Exeter (14-6), runner-up for the Central Section Division III championship, had only 16 kills.

The Monarchs lost in similar fashion two years ago, getting swept in less than an hour.

“You know you could slack off a little bit but you have to stay with it,” said middle blocker Kelly Ayers, who had six kills for Harvard-Westlake. “Your team helps you by staying focused. It’s all about communication.”

This is not the caliber of team the Wolverines will face should they advance to the state semifinals, where they probably would play Bishop Montgomery, which defeated the Wolverines earlier this season.

Coincidentally, in 1996, the Wolverines lost to Bishop Montgomery in the state semifinals.

For now, they are focusing on the quarterfinals.

“We’ve just got to play with the same level of intensity and be aggressive at the net and we’ll be OK,” said Coach Jess Quiroz of Harvard-Westlake.

Anne Jakle had 10 kills, including four in the first game, and JoAnna August added seven for Harvard-Westlake.

Jennifer Smith had four kills for Exeter, a town near Visalia. The bus ride was nearly four hours.

“We could say it was the traveling or whatever, but we rolled over for them,” said Coach Lyle Tashiro of Exeter. “I’m not taking anything away from [Harvard-Westlake], but I’m sad to say that was my team out there.”