Orange Lutheran passes first playoff test

All of the signs pointed toward a possible fifth game for the Orange Lutheran girls volleyball team.

The Lancers trailed host Dana Hills by three points late in the fourth game, they were out of timeouts and would later face game point three times.

No worries.

Orange Lutheran rallied, closing out the match for a 25-22, 23-25, 25-9, 28-26 victory in its CIF-SS Division 1-AA first-round match against Dana Hills.

The Lancers (17-13) will be host to Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach in the second round Thursday.

Macey Capen and Taylor Wheatley both had 15 kills for the Lancers. Shannon Frost had 24 digs. Ashley Lenington had 15 digs and 24 assists.

Tia Scambray led Dana Hills (17-11) with 22 kills.

"I think we showed a little bit of character then," Orange Lutheran coach Marc Laulhere said. "It started to mean a little bit more, like wait a minute, we don't want to go five (games).

"A sense of urgency kicked in, where I think we came into game four, especially after winning so easily in game three we came out and went through the motions.

Dana Hills led 10-6 early in the fourth game. Later, the Dolphins had a 22-19 lead, but Orange Lutheran tied the game at 22-22 on a kill by Wheatley.

At 26-26, the Lancers closed the match on a solo block by Blair Pickens and kill from Capen.

The teams met earlier this season with Orange Lutheran winning in three.

This time around, the Dolphins didn't go quietly.

Dana Hills evened the match at 1-1 by taking the second game. The Lancers regained control of the match with their commanding victory in the third game.

"We didn't control the ball well in the second game," Laulhere said. "We didn't come out aggressive and they (Dana Hills) were more in system."

The Lancers were on fire to start the third game, taking an 8-2 lead, forcing Dana Hills into a timeout. The Dolphins were never able to regroup.

Also in Division 1-AA

San Clemente 3, Huntington Beach 2: The Tritons (20-8) held off the visiting Oilers (16-13) for the 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-12 victory.

This was the second meeting of the season between the two teams. San Clemente won the first match in four games.

Alexa Strange led San Clemente with 23 kills and she added 22 assists. Franki Darnold had 22 kills and 16 digs. San Clemente will face Santa Margarita in the second round. The Eagles swept Moorpark, 25-16, 25-11, 25-19.

In Division 3-A

Garden Grove 3, Ramona of Riverside 2: The Argonauts (11-6) lost two of the first three games, but rallied to win the match, 25-17, 18-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-13 against the visiting Rams.

Danielle Goldowski and Lana Masoe had 14 and 10 kills, respectively, for Garden Grove.

In Division 2-AA

Aliso Niguel 3, M.L. King 1: The Wolverines (16-9) dropped the first game, but didn't let that stop them from winning the match, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 28-26.

Elise Ruddins led Aliso Niguel with 31 kills. She also had 11 digs. Olivia Vermooten led Aliso Niguel with 17 digs.

Aliso Niguel will host North Torrance in the second round.

Mission Viejo 3, Riverside Poly 0: Alyssa McIvor and Sophie Rowe had 12 kills apiece in the 25-16, 25-14, 25-21 victory over Riverside Poly.

Tesoro 3, Norco 1: Makensie Bates led Tesoro (21-6) with 15 kills in the 25-12, 25-17, 18-25, 25-15 home victory.