Title for La Reina Is More Than Promises, Promises

Promises can be broken. Or forgotten.

This one was remembered and delivered.

Before the girls’ volleyball season began, Jennifer Ryan told captain Ashlie Hain that La Reina High would win a Southern Section championship.

The promise became a prediction as La Reina defeated Marymount, 16-14, 15-12, 11-15, 9-15, 15-4, to win the Division IV-AA championship on Friday at Cypress College.

Ryan, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker who has committed to Santa Clara, was nearly flawless, setting career-highs with 30 kills and 27 digs.

The Regents won their first Southern Section volleyball title.

“We weren’t going to let that get away from us,” Ryan said.

It was definitely close.

No. 3-seeded La Reina (26-0) came away with tight victories in the first two games and was a few points away from a sweep after taking a 9-2 lead in the third game.

But top-seeded Marymount (24-4) embarked on a 13-2 run to end the game and made it an entirely new match by winning the fourth game.

La Reina bolted to a 7-2 lead in the fifth game on the strength of two kills and a block by Ryan.

At that point, Marymount setter Haley Jorgensborg, among the top juniors in Southern California, left the game with cramps in her left leg.

Jorgensborg, who battled flu-like symptoms throughout the week, did not return.

“We had a great comeback,” Marymount Coach Cari Klein said. “We needed Haley, though.”

La Reina scored eight of the next 10 points to win the match and the title.

“I don’t know if I can put it into words,” La Reina Coach Don Hyatt said. “We proved we’re not just a team playing way out there in the Tri-Valley League. We can play with anybody.”

Cara Kuebert had 10 kills and Lacy Ertel added nine for La Reina, which might play Marymount again. Both teams qualified for the state Division IV tournament, which begins Tuesday.

Jorgensborg had 15 kills and Christina Hinds had 21 for Marymount, whose previous losses came to San Clemente, Long Beach Poly and Lakewood St. Joseph’s.

All are in championship matches today.

Harvard-Westlake def. Bishop Montgomery, 15-12, 15-7, 9-15, 15-13--The Wolverines survived a late Bishop Montgomery rally at Cypress College to win their fourth section championship in six years.

Junior middle blocker Courtney Schultz led Harvard-Westlake (22-2) with 25 kills and six digs.

The match bore no resemblance to an October nonleague match the Wolverines won, 15-5, 15-4, 15-2.

“[Bishop Montgomery] was scrappy,” Coach Jess Quiroz said. “But Courtney was just great. She is always great.”

After losing the third game and trailing, 5-2, in the fourth, Schultz and junior Karalyn Kuchenbecker traded kills for the Wolverines and shifted the momentum of the match.

Kuchenbecker finished with 22 kills and six digs.

“We lost our confidence at the end and had to fight to get it back,” Schultz said.

Annie Hoeksma had 54 assists and seven blocks for top-seeded Harvard-Westlake, which had already qualified for the state Division III playoffs beginning on Tuesday.

UCLA-bound Chrissie Zartman had 22 kills and 24 digs for the No. 2-seeded Knights (21-12), who also qualified for the state playoffs.

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Correspondent Adam Holt contributed to this report.