Hain Helps Serve Up Victory for La Reina in Three Games

Ashlie Hain of La Reina High isn’t known for her serve.

But she impressed Chowchilla with it.

Hain, a setter, slammed an ace in the third game to blunt a Chowchilla comeback and give host La Reina a 15-7, 15-10, 15-12 victory in the Southern Regional semifinals of the state Division IV playoffs Saturday.

No. 1-seeded La Reina (28-0) plays Marymount in the Southern Regional final in a rematch of the Southern Section Division IV-AA championship.

Marymount (26-4) advanced with an 8-15, 15-4, 15-10, 15-3 victory over Bakersfield Liberty High.

The Regents led the third game, 14-6, before Chowchilla scored six consecutive points.

Hain, who had 31 assists, 11 kills and six digs, posted her only ace to seal the victory.

“[Chowchilla] wouldn’t roll over,” Hain said. “I said, ‘This is it.’ I hit that ball as hard as I could.”

Jessica Diepersloot of Chowchilla, who had 21 kills and six blocks, sparked the comeback.

“I told [Hain], ‘Get an ace or you go home!’ ” said teammate Jennifer Ryan. “We needed to get it over with.”

Hain listened.

“She’s probably the most athletic tall girl we’ve faced this year,” Hain said of Diepersloot. “[In the third game], they were just putting the ball up for her.”

La Reina’s balanced attack overcame Diepersloot and Tauheedah Gaines, who had 10 kills and two blocks.

“[Chowchilla] played with the most heart I’ve ever seen any team put forward,” said La Reina Coach Don Hyatt. “They just don’t quit.”

Ryan had 17 kills, 11 digs and five aces. Lacy Ertel had 10 kills, 13 digs and two aces. Christine Werner added seven kills and eight digs.

“We’ve rallied before,” said Chowchilla Coach Michelle Parrish. “These girls wanted to live to see another game.”

La Reina defeated Marymount in five games to claim its first Southern Section title.

“They really wanted a rematch,” said Ryan, who increased her season-kill total to 433. “We know they want to beat us.”

Said Hain: “When we were slapping hands at the end of the game, they all said, ‘We’ll see you in [the state playoffs].’ ”

Inconsistent play has hindered La Reina only slightly.

Against Marymount, La Reina won the first two games, lost the next two, and had to rally for its first section championship.

Against Chowchilla, the Regents fell behind, 7-3, in the second game before winning, 15-10.

‘We can’t let up like that,” Ryan said.