The
Valley Christian (San Jose) volleyball team might not have been as physically imposing as
Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates), but the Warriors were, well, warriors in their 25-20, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23 CIF Division I state final victory on Friday at Santiago Canyon College.
Charley Staats and
Addison Carbonara combined for 47 kills in the victory. Even more impressive when you consider they're listed at 5-foot-7 and 5-9, respectively.
Their combined effort helped stem the tide against the Sea Kings' ferocious hitter
Kendall Beshear, a Cal Poly commit. She tallied 30 kills in the loss.
"Our two outside hitters play libero in club and our opposite is a freshman," Valley Christian coach Ron Whitmill said. "We're going up girls that are ready to play in college.
"The fact they can go out there and have the belief in themselves and in us if we stay in our game plan we can beat anybody."
The freshman,
Whitney Fleming, had 12 kills.
Palos Verdes hitter Kendall Breshear had 30 kills in the Sea Kings' 3-1 loss to Valley Christian in the CIF Division 1 volleyball finals on Friday at Santiago Canyon College. (Photo: Eric Hamilton)
Valley Christian's first-set victory was punctuated by eight kills from Carbonaro and 13 assists from setter Hailey Newell.
The Sea Kings answered back in the second set with a victory that saw them get in system and rhythm.
We knew with their middle (
Daniela Rusich ) and No. 13 (Breshear), if we allowed them to get in system they were a handful," Whitmill said.
But the Warriors were particularly good at their net blocking and back row defense while also finding hitters in and out of system. Whitmill said playing in the WCAL with nationally ranked Archbishop Mitty and Saint Francis allowed them to be battle tested.
"We took our medicine a lot. I believe the strength of our leave gives us a lot of confidence. We (had to) battle every day," he said.
The third and fourth sets were tight with 24 ties and nine lead changes and down the stretch, Valley Christian was able to get Palos Verdes in a few disadvantageous rotations.
"It came down to a couple of points. We played great and I don't know if there's anything we could've done better," Sea Kings coach Lacey Minzlaff said.
Trailing 23-22 in the fourth set, Breshear hammered a ball to knot the set before Staats finished the victory with two kills. The first was a tip to an open spot on the floor and the final one a smash through a block and a state title.
