Connelly volleyball grabs fourth title in a row

CYPRESS - The postgame scene was familiar, with Connelly coach Gary Currier and his team posing for photos with the championship plaque after the No. 2 seeded Koalas defeated Saddleback Valley Christian in four games, 21-25, 25-21, 31-29, 25-22, to capture the school’s fourth consecutive CIF-SS Division V-AA girls volleyball title Saturday morning at Cypress College.

“It definitely doesn’t get old,” said Currier of winning. “SVC put some fire under us. A lot of teams underestimated them, but we didn’t. They were ready for us.”

Connelly (27-30 defeated its San Joaquin League foe twice during league play, including a five-game victory at home, and was prepared for another slugfest in the final. SVC (19-5) was unseeded, but upset No. 4 Victor Valley Christian of Victorville in the quarterfinals and No. 1 Pacifica Christian of Santa Monica in the semifinals.

“I’m proud of the girls,” SVC coach Jon Greene said. “We had a great run. We just made too many mistakes today to beat a team like Connelly. We knew we could compete with them. The big deal was trying to knock them off when they expect to win. I think that was the difference today, they have been here before.”

Connelly built a 19-15 lead in the opening game before the Warriors went on a 7-0 run. SVC closed the game out on a right-side kill from Anna Karlsen and led 1-0.

SVC had a big lead in Game 2, but Connelly staged a furious rally to even the match. The Warriors were in front 21-14 before the Koalas ended the game on an 11-0 run, finishing it one of Nicole Yost’s seven aces. The sophomore outside hitter also put up a team-high 19 kills.

The teams were tied at 21 in Game 3, but Connelly earned two set points at 24-22. However, SVC ran off four straight points to gain its first set point.

Connelly had the lead at 27-26, before SVC had two more chances to win it at 28-27 and 29-28. Connelly gained its fourth game point on a kill from Stephanie Maddox and closed it out on an error from SVC.

“That was a huge once we closed it out,” Currier said. “When it came down to crunch time, we’ve been there before.”

The score was also tied at 21 in Game 4, and again the Koalas’ experience showed. They received a back row kill from Maddox, an ace from Hailey Butler and a kill from Chanelle Neal to end the match.

“We had an excellent season,” Greene said. “Our battle cry has been make somebody beat us. If we lose, it needed to be because someone came in and beat us.”