It was business as usual for the top-ranked Los Alamitos girls volleyball team.
The Griffins, who opened Sunset League play Tuesday with a three-set sweep, did it again Thursday.
Behind Crissy Jones‘ 14 kills and seven from Jazmine Hogan, Los Alamitos swept visiting Fountain Valley, 25-20, 25-21, 25-17.
“It wasn’t our best volleyball, but there was no panic,” Los Alamitos coach Dave Huber said. “We just kind of kept working and eventually when we got the opportunity, we took advantage of it.”
The Griffins (18-4, 2-0) had to work to turn back the Barons (12-5, 0-1). In the first set, the Griffins led, 9-5, but the Barons fought back to get even at 11-11.
Over the rest of the set, the Griffins were able to seize control, ending things on a kill by Hogan.
“We saw how much energy they played with, and like I said, us not being on top of our game, we kind of gave them some opportunities to get even more excited,” Huber said. “And they kept taking advantage.”
Laney Ehlers led the Barons with 13 kills. Samria Escobar had 10. Ari Jacobsen had 22 digs.
“We’re getting there,” Fountain Valley coach Adam Cutrell said. “We only had six hitting errors as a team, that’s pretty solid. It has taken awhile to buy in, but they’ve stayed super-positive and every match, they’ve learned and that’s half the battle.”
The Barons’ best chance for a victory came in the second set. Los Alamitos led, 22-21, but the Griffins scored the final three points to take a two-game lead.
Also in the Sunset League:
No. 7 Huntington Beach 3, Newport Harbor 2: The Oilers (17-4, 1-0) dropped the first two sets, but were able to come all the way back for the home victory, 24-26, 25-27, 25-17, 25-21, 15-12, over the Sailors. Kendra Koelsch and Cheyenne Rankin both had 15 kills for the Oilers.
In the Trinity League:
No. 9 Santa Margarita 3, No. 2 Mater Dei 1: Meghan McClure (25 kills) and Claire Archibald (24 kills) helped the visiting Eagles (11-9, 1-1) to the 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-19 victory over the Monarchs (15-4, 0-1). Brooke Hertel had 17 digs, Mikayla Dobson had 49 assists and Ashley Campbell had five aces for the Eagles.
In the Pacific Coast League:
No. 4 Corona del Mar 3, Irvine 0: Katie Craig had nine kills to lead the host Sea Kings (8-2, 1-0) in their 25-16, 25-15, 25-9 victory.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com