La Reina Loses Grip and Falls to Marymount

The perfect season finally ended for La Reina High, four days and 100 miles too early.

The Regents, one match away from the state championship, were no match for Marymount in a 17-15, 15-8, 16-14, loss to the Pilots in the Southern Regional championship of the state Division IV volleyball playoffs Tuesday at La Reina.

The Regents defeated Marymount 11 days earlier to win the Southern Section Division IV-AA title but failed to match the intensity or ability they displayed in that match.

The perfect season and the longest trip through the state playoffs came crashing down in one night because of one lead suspect--the Regents’ inability to hang onto a lead.

La Reina (28-1) led the first game, 7-0, the second game, 7-2, and the third game, 14-12, but couldn’t put away any of them.

As a result, they can finally put away the practice nets for good.

“Sometimes it’s just not your night,” Coach Don Hyatt said. “We weren’t quite where we had been mentally for 28 matches.

“They had a little mental edge coming in [because] they had the revenge factor, but that’s not an excuse. They played excellent.”

Jennifer Ryan, who had a career night with 30 kills and 27 digs when the teams met in the sectional championship, had only eight kills in the rematch.

“She just couldn’t get untracked [Tuesday night] like she has all year long,” Hyatt said.

In a gamble that paid off, Marymount (27-4) changed its offense minutes before the match, Coach Cari Klein deciding to go with one setter instead of two.

Haley Jorgensborg, one of the top juniors in Southern California, ran the offense to perfection, consistently feeding the hot hand of outside hitter Christina Hinds, who had 17 kills.

“We had to try something different,” Jorgensborg said. “So we did. And we won in three.”

Because the Pilots did not win a Southern Section championship, they were given a tougher road to the state regional championship.

The Pilots had to travel to La Habra and Bakersfield for their first two state matches, getting lost on the latter trip and arriving only five minutes before the match.

They arrived in plenty of time Tuesday.

Jorgensborg and Hinds, who has committed to William & Mary College, were nearly flawless for Marymount, which plays Menlo Atherton for the Division IV championship Saturday at Cypress College.

Marymount was especially effective in coming back from deficits.

“For some reason, we just always came back,” Jorgensborg said. “We had a second chance to beat them and we took it.”

The loss did not diminish the accomplishments of the season for La Reina, which had never won a Southern Section title in volleyball until this season.

“It’s hard after such a great season to end like that,” said senior Ashlie Hain, who had six kills and 15 assists.

“But we were 28-0 and got what we wanted . . . a [Southern Section] title.”