Edison girls’ volleyball falls to top seed Alemany in CIF Division 3 semifinal

To advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 3 championship game, the Edison girls’ volleyball team had to take down topseed Mission Hills Alemany.

Both teams were trying to find their footing in the early stages of the match, but it was the Warriors who settled in to take a two-set lead over the fourthseeded Chargers.

Edison rallied to win the third set but couldn’t stop a flurry of service aces in the fourth game and fell to Alemany 16-25, 18-25, 26-24, 13-25 at L.A. Mission College on Saturday.

“They have a lot of weapons and they utilized all of them,” Edison co-coach Trent Jackson said. “The film that we saw, they mostly went to [London Wijay], and [today], they went to everybody.

“We didn’t serve tough enough. That was another thing. I think we were nervous. We came out in the first set, and, as a result of missing four serves in the first set, we didn’t want to miss, and so we serve easy. That then allows them to side out too easily. Everything’s connected in a volleyball match.”

Edison (22-16), the Wave League champions, reached the semifinal match after defeating Dos Pueblos, St. Margaret’s and Long Beach Wilson. It’s the furthest the team has gone in the playoffs in six years.

“Where we started and how far we’ve come, I’m super proud of the team,” Jackson said. “I look at the next challenge. ... This one got away. Let’s win state. Let’s take it on the chin on this one. Good job, Alemany. You guys were good, but let’s focus on what’s in front of us. We have to put this behind us and get into the gym and, now, re-motivate.”

Edison’s Molly McCluskey had a team-high 14 kills, Adia McCown contributed nine kills and junior Summer Witherby added eight. Makenna Jackson had 19 digs, Morgan Gillinger had five blocks and Sophie Vienna had 25 assists and 14 digs.

“I’m really proud of us as a team,” McCluskey said. “We’ve changed so much. We’ve grown so much this entire season. I couldn’t even imagine that this was going to happen, that we were going to make it this far. It’s really awesome to see. I’m really proud of us.”

Edison’s season is not over just yet. The Chargers’ semifinal berth automatically qualifies them for the CIF State Southern California regional playoffs, with brackets scheduled to be released Sunday, Nov. 6.

Meanwhile, Alemany (24-6) will face No. 3 Westlake Village Oaks Christian in the Division 3 championship match — a rematch of the Division 4 title game in which the Warriors won.

The Warriors defeated Pasadena Mayfield in the first round before sweeping Long Beach Milikan and South Pasadena to reach the semifinal match.

Alemany was led by junior London Wijay with a game-high 23 kills. Warriors junior Havyn Rolle added 14 kills.

“Our passing did a really good job [steadying] the ship,” Alemany coach Morgan Wijay said. “Whenever you play someone, you just have to get used to the tempo — used to the rhythm. Edison is an excellent team.

”... I thought the girls did a good job on passing. I thought we did a really good job on defense. There were a few good plays that [Edison] made, but I think, collectively, we dug them all up.”

Edison took a 10-7 lead in the first game as both teams attempted to establish momentum early in the match. After committing six errors, Alemany went on a 7-0 run and took a 14-10 advantage that it would not give up.

McCluskey tallied seven kills in the second game as the two teams scored back-and-forth early in the set. Alemany, however, pulled away late, outscoring Edison 8-2 to secure a two-set lead.

“We definitely did not play our best,” said McCluskey of the first two sets. “They outplayed us in a lot of different ways, but, in the third set, we realized we didn’t want to lose, so we started to fight back more. I think we changed gears. But in the first and second game, it was just not our best play.”

Witherby, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo commit for beach volleyball, started heating up midway through the third game, but Alemany freshman Alanah Clemente kept the Warriors within reach. Ashley Finch clinched the third game for Edison with a pair of blocks, cutting the Warriors match lead to 2-1. It was the first time Alemany dropped a set since the first round of the Division 3 playoffs.

Edison kept it close early in the fourth set, but, with a 10-9 lead, Alemany went on a 10-1 scoring run on the back of four straight service aces from Lexie Firestone to seal the semifinal victory.

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