St. Monica Academy girls’ volleyball holds off rally this time in postseason victory

SAN FERNANDO — SAN FERNANDO — For a moment, it appeared all the rallies had dried up for the St. Monica Academy girls’ volleyball team.

The Crusaders watched their two-game advantage evaporate versus Los Angeles City Section Division III champion Verdugo Hills, as the host Dons appeared on the cusp of turning in their own comeback story Tuesday evening at the Cesar Chavez Learning Academy.

Whatever plagued St. Monica Academy in third- and fourth-sets defeat, however, did not drag the CIF Southern Section Division V-A champions down, as they defeated Verdugo Hills, 25-12, 26-24, 22-25, 20-25, 15-8 in the first round of the CIF State Division V playoffs.

The state victory, only the second in the history of the program, advanced fifth-seeded St. Monica into the second round of the Southern California Regional playoffs. The Crusaders (25-4-2) will face top-seeded Upland Christian (25-7), which easily dispatched No. 8 Madison, 25-11, 25-14, 25-10.

The contest is scheduled for Saturday, but St. Monica Academy Coach Darren Bradley said he is in the process of moving the match to Monday.

As for Tuesday, momentum was clearly on the side of the Dons, who held off back-to-back late Crusaders rallies in the third and fourth sets for 25-22 and 25-20 wins.

Yet, in the fifth set, it was St. Monica that came out loose and Verdugo Hills that cracked.

The fourth-seeded Dons (15-4) committed six errors in the final 15-point set, with three of those gaffes being service errors. In comparison, St. Monica committed one service error and two mistakes in the final game.

“We wanted to jump out quick and get Verdugo Hills on its heels, pressured and making errors,” Bradley said. “We knew once the pressure was on them, that they would make mistakes trying to come back.”

Crusaders junior setter Molly Hagan followed her coach’s cue by opening with two consecutive aces to give the Crusaders a 2-0 lead they never relinquished.

The deficit remained at two until a Dons’ service error gave St. Monica a 6-3 advantage and kick-started a 7-2 run capped on a kill from Sophia Vega (seven kills) that gave the visitors a 13-5 lead.

Five possessions later, Vega closed it out with a block of Verdugo Hills’ Abbey DiMino to secure a 15-8 win.

“Mr. Bradley told us it would help to have a super short memory and just forget about the third and fourth sets,” said Hagan, who finished with 10 kills and six aces. “We just tried hard because every point helps and we wanted to win.”

St. Monica appeared to have the match wrapped up about an hour earlier with another signature rally.

The Crusaders won the first set rather easy, 25-12, thanks in part to three aces from Hagan before falling behind, 24-19, in the second set.

A point away from losing, the Crusaders instead launched an impressive 7-0 run aided by three errors from Verdugo Hills.

One mistake was particularly devastating as Verdugo’s Kaylee Rydel appeared to connect on a game-winning kill. The point wasn’t awarded, though, as Rydel’s overhand swing landed her fingers on the net for a centerline violation.

The change converted a 25-23 victory into a tie at 24.

Two possessions later, St. Monica senior outside hitter Rose Goodwin secured a wild 26-24 victory with a kill.

“When we talk to each other, we win,” Goodwin said. “We didn’t communicate in the third and fourth sets and starting doing so in the fifth set.”

Verdugo Hills did its best to rally with two kills and two aces from Kaitie Flores in the third-set win that was followed by three aces from Shelley Quema in a fourth-set victory.

The efforts, though, were undone in a fifth set.

“I’m proud of my girls,” Bradley said. “We just won a championship last weekend and it was hard to get the energy back up. For them to come out and win, it says a lot about them.”

Therese Boles added 10 kills and five aces for the Crusaders, while libero Yamila Evans tallied 20 digs.