ORANGE — Chaminade (West Hills) got 21 kills from
Keira Brady and 41 assists from
Danit Cohen in a 25-19, 13-25, 25-19, 25-22 win over
Clovis North (Fresno) on Saturday in the CIF Division II finals at Santiago Canyon College.
The first state title for the Eagles wasn't as bumpy as the ride to the gym as the team faced tire troubles on the ride over.
"Obviously this moment is special, but there were hiccoughs getting here with a popped tire and three or four Ubers," Chaminade coach C.J. Suarez said.
Once the match started, however, Chaminade rode the hot hand of Brady, who had six of her match-high 21 kills in the first set victory.
Clovis North got the equalizer in the second set in what really would be a closely contested match for the duration.
"I came in saying we knew it would be a coin flip," Clovis North coach Travis Herb said. In scouting them, they're a mirror image of ourselves."
Cayla Sutton provided the firepower in the Broncos' second-set victory with six of her eight kills.
As the second set became academic, Suarez subbed in freshman
Shayla Martinez, who came up with a kill and wound up staying in the rotation for sets three and four. He said it was part of a few in-game adjustments the team was able to make.
"Shayla is special," the coach said. "I've put her in tough situations before and she handles it. We were struggling and she gave us a boost.
"We're our own worst enemy sometimes, but also our best strength."
Brady had 12 kills over the final two sets, including the one on championship point that sent the Eagles rushing into a dogpile in celebration. Chaminade also got nine kills from
Gabia Paliulis and 17 digs from
Kristin Alvandian.
Clovis North was led by
Peyton Bitter and
Kennedy Lingenfelter, who each had 10 kills while
Kyra Miller had 39 assists and
Ava Rogers had 13 digs.
