Last Hurdle for Cypress

The girls’ volleyball team at Cypress High is on the brink of its fifth Empire League title in the last six years, but it first has to get past pesky Anaheim Katella on Tuesday.

The Centurions won the first meeting two weeks ago in four games, but it wasn’t easy, according to Coach Heather Dillard.

“Katella was our toughest league match yet,” Dillard said. “Our serving kept us ahead in games 2, 3 and 4. Katella has a talented team this year.”

Brooke Raynor had 12 kills and Alicia Waller had 12 kills and 11 aces for visiting Cypress against Katella.

“A league championship is our first goal,” Dillard said. “Then we start looking toward CIF.”

Three all-league players return for the Centurions. Waller, a 6-foot-2 junior outside hitter, leads the team in digs and kills.

“She has a fantastic jump serve and gets three or four blocks a game,” Dillard said. “She started as a defensive specialist on the varsity and grew four inches as a freshman. She’s blossomed as a player and has a lot of potential.”

Opposite hitter Angela Guess, a 6-foot left-hander, is the third in her family to have played at Cypress. Like sisters Becky and Cassie, Angela is also a four-year varsity player, Dillard said.

Amanda Rodriguez, who also plays basketball, is only 5-10 but has a substantial vertical jump that allows her to play middle blocker.

“We’re not as tall as in previous years,” Dillard said, “but Amanda has really developed.”

Cypress plays in Division II-A, a division that most expect to be dominated by Santa Ana Mater Dei. But Dillard said she expects the Centurions to make a run.

“In 1998, we beat Mater Dei in a five-game match,” Dillard said. “We will just try to go as far as we can go. We have a lot of seniors on this team and they are looking to go far. They are highly motivated.”

No Nighthawk Napping

Murrieta Valley Coach Susan Lillie said the Nighthawks can’t afford to relax in Tuesday’s home rematch with Temecula Chaparral, a match that is expected to decide at least a share of the Southwestern League title.

Lillie said a lack of concentration and desire had a lot to do with her team’s four-game loss at Chaparral in the first round of league play.

Murrieta Valley won the first game of that match, but blew a 24-19 lead in the second and never recovered. The loss knocked the Nighthawks out of the Times’ top 10 for the second time this season.

“It was a rough one for us,” Lillie said. “We will get them next time.”

Murrieta Valley was nearly caught looking ahead last week, when it barely escaped with a 25-12, 25-27, 22-25, 25-18, 15-7 victory over Lake Elsinore Temescal Canyon. Kelsey Hall had 22 kills and Megan Cape added 10.

Experienced Freshman

Freshman Ashley Lee, a setter who has trained with the junior national age-group team, is the kill leader for Hacienda Heights Wilson, averaging 10 to 15 per game, according to Coach Patricia Branconier.

Branconier has been impressed with Lee’s quickness and aggressiveness, which the coach credits to Lee’s playing for several club teams over the last few years.

“She plays everywhere and knows how to hit the ball anywhere on the court,” Branconier said.

Jersey to Be Retired

Mater Dei planned to retire the jersey of its late setter, Andrea (Andi) Collins, in ceremonies Tuesday before the Monarchs’ Serra League match against visiting Santa Margarita.

Collins, 16, died Sept. 4 after a nine-month battle with breast cancer.

Mater Dei players have draped Collins’ No. 54 jersey over a chair on the bench during matches this season as a tribute. According to a school official, one of Collins’ jerseys will go to her family and another will be enshrined in the athletic hall of fame on campus.