Glendale Adventist Academy girls’ volleyball grabs top seed
Gared Luquet spent time in a few airports Thursday.
The Glendale Adventist Academy girls’ volleyball coach left Denver for San Francisco before returning to Burbank in the early evening. When Luquet touched down in San Francisco for a four-hour layover, he received a text message from one of his players that would quell any frustration while waiting for his connecting flight.
Glendale Adventist earned the top seed in the CIF Southern Section Division IX playoffs after the CIF Southern Section office unveiled its playoff pairings for all 10 divisions Thursday.
“I got to San Francisco knowing that the pairings would be out and one of the players gave me the good news,” said Luquet, whose team will face Pacific Lutheran in a first-round home match at 6 p.m. Tuesday. “I wasn’t sure where we would be seeded, but it’s amazing for our program and we are a small school.
“Getting the No. 1 seed validates the work we’ve put in and we have an exciting team. We’ll have a big target on our backs going into the playoffs and we won’t be obsessed with being the top seed. We’ll talk about the pressures we might be facing and we’ll look to keep our emotions in control.”
Glendale Adventist (17-5) tied for second in the Liberty League with Providence after sweeping Providence on Monday. Pacific Lutheran (9-10) took second in the Mulholland League.
“I don’t know all that much about Pacific Lutheran, but we’ll look around and see what we can find out,” Luquet said.
The Cougars, who didn’t qualify for the playoffs last season, feature a lineup that includes Paige Singleton, Elyse Knipschild and Camille Pizarro.
The winner of the Glendale Adventist Academy-Pacific Lutheran match will take on Thousand Oaks Hillcrest Christian (16-1) or Carpinteria (7-6) in a second-round match Thursday.
Joining Glendale Adventist in Division IX are Holy Family and St. Monica Academy. Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy earned an at-large berth in Division I to round out the local teams who will participate in the playoffs.
Holy Family (16-1) will make its first postseason appearance since 2011, when it won the Horizon League championship. The Gaels took second in league behind L.A. Sacred Heart of Jesus this season by virtue of several standout players in Meghann Velasquez, Melanie Ibarra and Rosy Castro.
Holy Family will take on Dunn (8-5) at a time to be determined Tuesday. The match will likely be held at Pacific Park Community Center, though the Gaels play their home matches at Maple Park.
“We’re feeling very good about our team right now,” Holy Family coach Robert Bringas said. “We’ve been practicing hard and looking to tie up some loose ends.
“We’re jelling well now and that will help going into the playoffs. It will be the first time for them competing in a playoff game and we’re excited. We’re on an upswing.”
Dunn took second in the Condor League.
The winner will meet Southlands Christian (18-7) or Mesa Grande Academy (15-7) in the second round.
St. Monica (12-5) came up short in its quest to win a ninth consecutive International League title. Instead, the Crusaders took second behind Lycee International of Los Angeles.
Still, the Crusaders boast championship pedigree after winning the Division X crown in 2015 under coach Darren Bradley.
“It’s definitely a tough division to be in, no doubt,” said Bradley, whose team will take on de Toledo (10-5-1) in a first-round match likely at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at New Revelation Baptist church gym in Pasadena. “It’s a chance to get the players more playoff experience.
“We’ll have to do a real good job on defense because we can’t stand around and then react.”
The winner will take on Santa Rosa Academy (21-2-1) or California Lutheran (15-10) in the second round.
At one point this season, a proud Flintridge Sacred Heart volleyball program was 5-12 and in the midst of a seven-match losing streak capped by a 3-2 loss to city rival La Cañada on Oct. 7.
Since then, the Tologs finished with an incredible 15-1 run that produced a 20-13 record, marking the fifth straight season Flintridge Sacred Heart has won 20 matches.
During that period, Flintridge Sacred Heart (20-13) won two tournaments (SoCal Invitational and Crescenta Valley), defeated Mission League third-place Alemany and only lost to the league’s runner-up Harvard-Westlake.
The Tologs finished fourth in league, grabbed a Division I at-large berth and will travel to No. 5-ranked Redondo Union (30-4) on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. match.
Flintridge Sacred Heart has advanced past the first round in three of the last five playoff appearances, including when the squad reached the second round last season.
Redondo Union, though, is certainly a formidable foe and already defeated the Tologs, 2-0, in the Las Vegas Durango Classic on Sept. 15.
Should Flintridge Sacred Heart win, it would face Sea View League champ Dana Hills (24-4) or South Coast League third-place finisher Trabuco Hills (9-6) on Thursday.
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
