Los Alamitos Rides Out Storm

The Los Alamitos girls’ volleyball team was riding a crest that seemed as if it would never end.

The Griffins were the defending Southern Section Division I-AA champions, ranked among the elite in Southern California, and had beaten a host of solid teams to win the prestigious Cerritos Gahr tournament.

But that was three months ago. Since then, lingering injuries and illnesses, an off-court mishap and on-court discontent have contributed to a season that has included incredible highs as well as lows.

Los Alamitos shared the Sunset League championship with two teams but lost the Division I-AA title match on Nov. 22 to league rival Anaheim Esperanza, which it beat twice during the regular season.

A victory tonight, however, against host Poway (31-5), the San Diego Section champion, in the state Division I semifinals puts Los Alamitos (26-9) into the title match Saturday at Cypress College. Tonight’s match starts at 7.

“This has been a roller coaster of a season,” said Griffin setter Ashley Tarutis, a senior who will attend Notre Dame. “There have been so many ups and downs and roadblocks. Everything that could have gone wrong did.”

Trouble started shortly after Los Alamitos, at the time ranked No. 2 in the Southland by The Times, got 21 kills from freshman Geena Urango to sweep then-No. 7 Long Beach Poly in the title game at Gahr.

Not long after a disappointing fifth-place finish at the Las Vegas Durango tournament, an automobile accident sidelined junior middle blocker Beth Wallace for a spell.

Later, 6-foot-4 outside hitter Nikki Liska, who is bound for UC Irvine, and 5-10 middle blocker Brenna Hoff, also a senior, left the team over issues that included playing time, Coach Sue Monsoor said.

And Rachael Moss, a promising sophomore outside hitter, was lost for the season because of a stress fracture in a foot.

Monsoor also struggled to complete her coaching staff when chief assistant Chris Komer, a Los Alamitos graduate, left to become an assistant at Concordia University in Irvine.

Jimmy Munoz, the No. 2 assistant, emerged as the visible coaching presence, making substitutions and directing discussions during matches, while Monsoor serves as the bench coach.

Just before the Southern Section final, Los Alamitos lost sophomore outside hitter Rebecca Smith because of an ankle injury.

Tarutis and Alex Filkins, who got the match-winner with a block in Saturday’s five-game victory over visiting Carlsbad La Costa Canyon, are playing despite suffering from bronchitis.

“This season has been really tough,” said Kara Uhl, a hard-hitting right-hander who will play at Pacific next season. “Everyone wanted that [section] title so bad. But the hard times got to us sometimes.”

Monsoor is pleased that her players decided to put the past behind them and start fresh in the four-game state championship tournament.

“The girls are fired up and want to go all the way,” she said. “They tell me it’s their destiny and I believe in them.”