NORWALK – Aliso Niguel girls volleyball coach DP Butler said this week his team’s players will fight for each other and each point.
Saturday, the Wolverines showed that a team that fights together will ultimately find success.
The top-seeded Wolverines rallied after losing the first two sets to defeat second-seeded Santiago of Corona, 22-25, 16-25, 25-16, 25-17, 15-10, in the CIF-SS Division 1A final at Cerritos College.
“They almost don’t react until there is some desperation,” Butler said. “We haven’t really been pushed that hard. … There was a lot more hesitation (at the start).”
After being rocked at the start, the Wolverines (29-1) opened the third set looking like they were the team trying to close out the sweep. They jumped out to a 5-1 lead, forcing Santiago into an early timeout. Aliso Niguel increased its lead to 16-7 leading to Santiago’s second and final timeout.
At that point, the Wolverines had found their footing in the match.
Aliso Niguel fell behind early in the fourth set, but with the score tied at 13-13, it scored four consecutive points to take the lead for good.
The Wolverines never trailed in the fifth set.
“We knew that we weren’t going to lose in three games,” senior Lindsey Ruddins said. “Our energy picked up and we had to push through everything.”
Butler pointed to a better defensive effort as a turning point in the match.
“I told them, ‘how many more tips are they going to put down before you wake up?’” he said. “They stuck it out. That’s a great team over there.”
Ruddins led the Wolverines with 27 kills. Kathryn Plummer had 23, hitting .576. She also had 20 assists. Jewel Hays led with 35 assists. Ruddins led with 18 digs. Olivia Amador had 16 digs and Plummer chipped in 11.
The Wolverines hadn’t lost two sets in a best-of-five match all season. During the playoffs, they had lost only one set while reaching the finals.
“They started having fun again,” Butler said of his players. “And our passing got a lot better and we started putting things together and that was the result.
The Wolverines were focused this year on improving upon last year’s CIF-SS quarterfinal appearance. This was their first finals appearance.
“This is the best group I’ve ever hard,” Butler said. “They’re very goal-oriented. They’re just a very, very special group.”
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
