St. Margaret's sweeps its way back into final

IRVINE – The St. Margaret's girls volleyball team qualified for its 11th CIF-Southern Section championship game in the past 20 years Tuesday night. And it did so in impressive fashion.

Sparked by the play of seniors Emily Moore and Ali Robinson, the third-seeded Tartans defeated Academy League foe Crean Lutheran, 25-14, 25-15, 25-23, in a Division 4AA semifinal game at Crean Lutheran.

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The victory qualifies St.Margaret's (20-9) for this weekend's section final against another league opponent, Sage Hill. Sage Hill, the No. 2 seed, advanced by ousting top-seeded Viewpoint of Calabasas in five games Tuesday.

The dates, times and places for the championship matches will be announced by the CIF-SS on Wednesday.

St. Margaret's victory marked the third consecutive playoff match the Tartans have won without losing a game.

"I tip my hat to St. Margaret's," Saints coach Eric Olson said. "Their experience in big games was a factor, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse. They just served and passed better than we did."

Moore, an NYU commit, finished with 21 assists and Robinson added a team-high 11 kills.