LC cruises past Rams
It was smooth sailing for La Cañada High girls’ volleyball team as the rain came down outside. The Spartans swept Rio Hondo League opponent Temple City with ease, 25-7, 25-10, 25-7.
Generating offense was no problem for the Spartans (18-2, 5-0 in league), even without starting outside hitter, Micaela Anderson, who is out two weeks with an injury.
“You have to take care of league,” Coach Brock Turner said. “League is more important than all we’ve done in the preseason. It’s these teams that we need to beat.”
Lauren Cox stepped up as Anderson’s replacement, getting six kills on the day.
“That’s the whole idea of this type of system,” Turner said. “You can put somebody in and there might be a slight drop off, but she knows her role out there.”
Temple City hung with La Cañada early in the first game, trading scores and tying the game at 5-5. A few quick scores gave an edge to the Spartans they wouldn’t lose for the rest of the match. A 20-2 run for La Cañada led them to the 25-7 win.
The Rams didn’t have many other bright spots the rest of the day, as La Cañada cruised to game wins of 25-10 and 25-7, once more, after opening those games with runs of 10-2 and 11-1, respectively.
“It’s a lot more mental for us today,” Turner said. “You go out, take care of business and respect the other team — always respect your opponent. Sometimes it’s tough because you may want to look ahead and not want to give 100%.”
Kendall Walbrecht notched a team-high eight kills for the Spartans, while Katie Pierce and Claire Hilsen had seven each and Laura Schroeder finished the game with six. Walbrecht wasn’t surprised to see the offense flowing, as her team racked up 30 assists and 14 aces.
“It is usually something we can always do because we are really good communicators, especially with the setter,” Walbrecht said. “It helps that we all know how each other wants the ball.”
The Spartans will continue their march through league on the way to their main goal, a CIF championship.
“We still need to work on our middles and get that ready for CIF playoffs so things open up on the outside,” Turner said. “It’s all the little things, we’ve still got work to do. Overall, it’s just intensity; we’re only as good as tomorrow’s practice.”