Marymount upsets Redondo for Division 1AA girls’ volleyball title

The Los Angeles Marymount girls’ volleyball team scaled another mountain Saturday night and the Sailors have never been higher.

Ashlie Williams had 21 kills and Kaitlyn Edwards added 19 as Marymount rallied to upset top-seeded Redondo, 25-18, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13, in the Southern Section Division 1AA final Saturday night at Santiago Canyon College in Orange.

After winning back-to-back Division 1A titles, the Sailors were moved up to the highest division this season and avenged two earlier losses to the Sea Hawks, who were making their fourth 1AA finals appearance.

With the score tied, 13-13, in the final set, Edwards hit back-to-back cross-court kills to wrap up the ninth section crown for the second-seeded Sailors (29-5), who lost to Palo Alto in five sets in the Division I state finals last year.

“I guess the third time’s a charm,” said Edwards, a senior who has signed with the University of Wyoming. “We were super-pumped -- we wanted revenge. I was so excited to hit the ball those last two plays.”

Skylar Dykstra had 20 kills and 21 digs to pace the Sea Hawks (35-4), who posted the most wins in school history and will join Marymount in the regional playoffs.

Marymount ended the first set on a kill by Kathleen Harris. Redondo clinched the second set on a net violation.

Redondo built an 18-12 lead in the third set and hung on to win it on a service error by Victoria Shepherd. Edwards’ quick kill sent the match to a decisive set.

Marymount held leads of 7-4 and 11-9 in the fifth set, but the Sea Hawks pulled even at 11-11 and the teams traded the next four points.

“We’re a group of fighters,” Edwards added. “It was a little nerve-racking when they came back but that’s what good teams do.”

Division 1A

Riley Spriesterbach and Katrina Palffy each had 10 kills for second-seeded Pasadena La Salle, which staved off six set points in the third set, including five in succession, to sweep Placentia El Dorado, 25-16, 25-20, 29-27.

It was the first section title for the Lancers (34-2), who overcame a 24-19 deficit in the third set, then needed three match points to end El Dorado’s 13-match winning streak.

“Actually, it was nice to play a team we hadn’t played before,” La Salle Coach Tiare Tuitama said. “We knew they had good outsides and went off that. I purposely scheduled a lot of away matches so we’d be used to playing on the road and it helped us in the playoffs.”

Jessica Kennedy, Haley DeSales and Olivia Bin each added nine kills and setter Alyssa Tavera had 37 assists and 13 digs for La Salle, which lost to Glendora St. Lucy’s in the Division 2AA finals last season.

Kelly Claes finished with 11 kills, Tess Hultgren had nine kills and Lauren Gullotti added 19 digs for the Golden Hawks (20-14), who upset top-seeded St. Lucy’s in five sets in the quarterfinals.

Division 2AA

His players call him “the man with the plan.”

On Saturday, Riverside King Coach Gene Krieger devised the game plan and his team executed it to perfection in a 25-19, 25-13, 22-25, 25-17 triumph over Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos.

Junior outside hitter Kalei Greeley led the way with 29 kills and 23 digs for the Wolves (26-7), who finished second to Corona Santiago in the Big VIII League but upset top-seeded North Torrance in the quarterfinals.

“This broke our streak of starting off really slow and that was good,” Greeley said. “We’re all on Cloud 9 right now. We had a really loud, supportive crowd and that helped pull us through.”

Tiana Barnett had 56 assists and nine digs for King, which played 12 ranked teams before league started. Krieger had his players keep notebooks and gave them homework throughout the season. His “Motivational Monday” pep talks were designed to improve the team’s mental toughness and the Wolves’ hard work paid off.

Ashten Smith-Gooden finished with 15 kills and 12 digs for the Baseline League champion Grizzlies (24-13).

Division 2A

Kylee Wolfe provided 20 kills to power Whittier Christian past Palos Verdes Chadwick, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22.

The top-seeded Heralds (35-3) suffered a loss to Downey in last season’s final and weren’t about to let that happen again. They rallied from a 13-6 deficit in the third set to seize control of the match.

“The whole team is really close and we’re used to being in tight games,” said Heralds setter Jennifer Washle, who finished with 40 assists, 18 digs and five aces. “We’ve been finding the way all season, so we didn’t panic when we got behind.”

Abbe Holtz had 19 kills and 25 digs and setter Sarah Lucenti finished with 10 kills, 26 assists and 13 digs for the second-seeded Dolphins (28-3), who moved up a division after back-to-back 3AA titles.

Division 3AA

After losing in the finals the previous two years, Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World swept second-seeded Los Angeles Windward, 25-17, 25-21, 25-20, for its eighth section title and first since 2005.

Raena Brocuk had 13 kills and eight digs and Alyssa Inbanez added nine kills for the top-seeded Fighting Scots (28-8), who took the lead for good in the third set, 16-15, on a spike by Oksana Ortega.

“Winning it feels so much better,” said Rim of the World setter Hailey Jones, who finished with 34 assists, five kills and nine digs. “Seeing the banners hanging in our gym was motivation. We wanted to add to that legacy.”

Christina Cornelius had 13 kills and Asha Walker had 11 digs for the second-seeded Wildcats (16-5), who did not drop a set in three previous playoff matches.

At Cypress College, Hemet won the Division 4AA title, Rolling Hills Prep took the 4A title, Sierra Madre Alverno won the 5AA title and Garden Grove Orangewood Academy captured the 5A crown.

sports@latimes.com