La Habra Girls Face St. Joseph in Rematch

After Lakewood St. Joseph suffered a nail-biting loss to La Habra in the girls’ volleyball section finals, the Jesters will get their wish and a rematch tonight at 7 when they play at La Habra in the State Division II semifinals.

Ten days ago, La Habra erased a two-games-to-none deficit and edged St. Joseph, 17-15, in the fifth game to win the Southern Section Division II-A championship match.

“We know the road to the state finals goes through La Habra now,” St. Joseph Coach Mike Hinton said prophetically after the loss.

Melissa Courtney, a senior setter/outside hitter who will play at Colorado State next season, had 25 kills and junior middle blocker Jennifer Daniels had 15 kills for the Jesters in that section-final loss.

St. Joseph (24-4) entered the postseason as the second-ranked team in the state Division II coaches’ poll. La Habra (22-2) was third.

The Highlanders are led by USC-bound Keao Burdine, a 6-foot outside hitter who had 33 kills and 23 digs in the section-final victory over St. Joseph. Sophomore middle blocker Kristina Baum has also played well for the Highlanders, averaging nearly 10 blocks in her last three matches.