Huntington Beach Loses to San Marcos

Although it took three games, the Huntington Beach girls’ volleyball team realized it wasn’t facing the same Santa Barbara San Marcos team it beat in four games this season.

After awhile, the third-seeded Oilers lost control of the sideout, and midway through the third game, lost control of the match, falling 15-9, 9-15, 15-10, 15-5 to the visiting Royals in a Southern Section Division IA semifinal match Tuesday night.

In the previous match, the No. 2 Royals were without standout outside hitter Erica Menzel, which allowed the Oilers to focus on defending middle blocker Jaima Ortega.

Both were in the lineup Tuesday, proving to be too much for the Oilers to handle.

“[San Marcos] can just jump on their backs and ride them,” Oiler Coach Isaac Owens said. “With those two in the front row, they’re hard to stop.”

After Ortega and Menzel had eight kills each in the first game, the Oilers adjusted, outscoring the Royals, 9-1, to close out the second game.

A block by Amber McCarthy and Kelly Brockman, plus a Royal error after a diving dig by Malia Damo, gave the Oilers a controlling 10-7 third-game lead.

The Royals called timeout, then found a strong rotation, scoring eight straight to close out the game.

San Marcos (17-5) will face Mater Dei in the final.