Los Al wraps up seventh Sunset title in row
The faces on Senior Night have changed throughout the years, but for the graduating eight on this year's Los Alamitos girl's volleyball team, their first goal was reached Thursday.
The Griffins, ranked second in the county and the CIF-SS Division IAA poll, clinched their seventh consecutive Sunset League title with a 25-9, 25-21, 25-12 home victory over Huntington Beach (15-13, 6-3).
"I definitely thought we could win the (league) title from the start," senior setter Justine Wong-Orantes said. "We have so many athletes and so much depth on the team, that I definitely thought we had a chance."
The depth has been key for the Griffins. Leading hitter Cristina Maietta had been out because of a hand injury for the majority of the league season, forcing Coach Dave Huber to look down the bench for contributions.
"We haven't really had a set lineup, but it is good because we have that versatility," Huber said. "We have some experience at critical positions like setter with Justine (Wong-Orantes) and Crissy (Jones). We have good players; they just weren't in big roles before. They've been learning all year long, and I like where we're at right now."
The Griffins have been able to rely on the experience duo of Wong-Orantes and Jones. Both were key components to last year's CIF championship team.
"The returners from last year saw what it took to be a team and play as a team," Wong-Orantes said. "The relationship between the newcomers and the returners have gotten a lot better from the beginning of the season to now."
Jones led the Griffins with 10 kills and Jeneava Crossley added eight in the sweep over the Oilers. Wong-Orantes had 24 assists.
There is still a lot to decide in the Sunset League. Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach are tied for second. Tuesday, the Sailors will host Los Alamitos and Huntington Beach will host Edison.
Also in the Sunset League
No. 9 Newport Harbor 3, Marina 1: The Sailors (16-8, 6-3) moved into a tie for second place with their 25-16, 25-21, 21-25, 25-5 road victory.
Setter Torey Thompson had 53 assists for Newport Harbor.
In the Trinity League
No. 1 Mater Dei 3, No. 6 Orange Lutheran 1: The Monarchs (25-5, 7-0) clinched the Trinity League title with their 25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19 victory over the visiting Lancers (14-7, 3-4).
Mater Dei played without Sara Hughes who is out the country participating in a tournament.
Setter Avery Taylor had 44 assists and 13 digs. Franki Shebby and Skyler Hubler had 20 and 15 kills, respectively.
No. 4 Santa Margarita 3, JSerra 0:Brittany Ptak led host Eagles (20-5, 6-2) with 13 kills in the 25-15, 25-17, 25-15 victory.
Morgan Spencer had 15 digs and Miranda Schryer had 13 assists for the Eagles.
