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Payback and finals berth for Loara
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Volleyball playoffs: Saxons win five-set match against team that dashed their hopes in 2007.
CERRITOS A semifinal victory is great by itself. Getting it against the team that knocked you out of the playoffs a year earlier is even better.
Revenge was on the minds of the Loara boys volleyball team when they took the court against Valley Christian.
Five thrilling sets later, the visiting Saxons redeemed their quarterfinal loss from the year before, defeating Valley Christian, 26-24, 17-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-12, in the CIF-SS Division III semifinals match.
The Saxons (18-2) advance to the Division III championship game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Cal State Dominguez Hills. They will face Quartz Hill, which defeated Downey, 25-15, 32-30, 25-17, on Wednesday.
“We lost to these guys last year, so we knew what the gym was like and what to expect,” Loara coach Kristi Becker said of the Crusaders. “We've been planning for this all year and this is a little redemption for us.”
The No. 8-ranked Saxons, who were coming off a stunning upset over top-seeded Santa Monica in the quarterfinals, won a tight Game 1 in which neither team led by more than three.
Valley Christian (19-7) would answer though, using a 4-0 run that was aided by some sloppy play on Loara's side to jump out to 10-3 lead in Game 2 that they would not relinquish.
Loara would come back from an 11-6 deficit in Game 3 to win by two again, only to see the Crusaders dominate Game 4, building a lead that reached 10.
Game 5 was fittingly a back and forth affair. With the score tied, 12-12, the Saxons' C.J. Morales fired and ace and two Valley Christian miscues sealed the victory.
“We just wanted to play like we had nothing to lose,” Saxons setter Bryan Do said. “It was a team effort.
“Coach told us to play our hearts out and we did.”
Contact the writer: preps@ocvarsity.com
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