Hey !! Where were you !! Wherever it was - it probably wasn't as good as the Cabrillo Gym on Thursday afternoon. That is where a small but enthusiastic, and highly vocal crowd saw another outstanding LPL Volleyball match.
LPL Girls Volleyball
Well, we know that Santa Ynez (12-0 LPL) won the Championship, their 5th consecutive without a loss, after that it gets tricky. The SY Pirate win, combined with victories by Cabrillo (over Morro Bay) and Templeton (over Lompoc) creates a 4-way 2nd place tie between Nipomo, Cabrillo, Templeton, and Morro Bay who are all at 7-5.
And it looks like Nipomo (17-13, 7-5 LPL) is the odd team out. Lots drawn before the season determined that the Titans would finish last amongst those tied. Nipomo would be considered the fifth seed in the Los Padres League. Likely seeding = Santa Ynez #1, Morro Bay #2, Templeton #3, Cabrillo #4.
@ Cabrillo 3, Morro Bay 1
[25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 25-18]
Afterwards Jim Hilliard, the relieved, almost giddy, Cabrillo Head Coach was exchanging hugs, backslaps, and congratulations with numerous people. During the match, he was a blur of activity, pacing the sideline, trying to 'body english' shots in or out, and working on exceeding the 50,000 chew warranty on his gum.
He had good reason to be nervous. On October 12th, this same rapidly improving Pirate squad defeated his gals 3-2. Cabrillo lost the 5th set 15-12 & were outscored in total points 109-103. These Pirates are young (1 senior), determined, feisty, and hard to shake.
Morro Bay had also won 6 of their last 7 LPL matches and were a game (7-4) ahead of the Conqs (6-5) in the LPL standings. Cabrillo was tied with Templeton for fourth in those standings, and only 4 teams in the LPL receive automatic bids to CIF. In addition, it was Senior Night on the hill, and 8 of his 12 varsity players were facing the prospect of playing their last game.
In the end, it was what Coach Hilliard termed a "full participation game" - everybody contributed and everybody was needed. After the loss in the 1st round, the team hit the film room - learning two important lessons. One, you have to cover the whole court, because "they throw the ball all over" and two, movement is key. He also moved Kayla Brooks to Middle Blocker last Tuesday (a 3-2 loss to Nipomo) and kept her there against Morro Bay, a move that paid dividends.
Coach might have added one of the oldest precepts in volleyball - always expect the ball to come back - it was certainly true in this contest. Incredible play followed incredible play, and neither team was afraid of splinters, benches, tables, stands, or other obstacles. The defense was extremely good, occasionally spectacular, and the team blocking was quite good.
Cabrillo Libero Kristina Goodchild, for example, seemed to have been cloned. Returning from a leg injury, she was everywhere, receiving 21 serves without error and collecting 24 digs, including several of the flat hand on the floor variety. That's 45 successful touches in just two categories, or over 25% of all 177 points in the game. Kiley Shae Aldridge had 26 assists on 85 (no errors reported) ball handling attempts (48 % of total points).
It wasn't the greatest offensive show on earth, or even on campus (see frosh football below), but Cabrillo was able to be somewhat more efficient with the ball than last time - reducing both hitting and serving errors. And while it wasn't always pretty - it was successful, with the Conquistadores heading to CIF and Coach Hilliard declaring "I'm so happy right now, I can barely even talk." We'll check with the girls later to see if he's still that way at practice.
Game Recap
Game 1 [25-20]: The game began as 3 out of the 4 games did - with a side-out on the initial serve. It was a tight affair throughout, with surges, counter-surges, and lots of ties early. The teams exchanged leads, and were tied at 1, 2, 3, and 5, before Cabrillo cruised out to a 10-5 behind Kelly O'Connell's serving. The Pirate's Bee Hoose responded in kind - serving 7 straight for a 13-11 Morro Bay advantage. Cathy Lynes had a couple big serves that led to ties at 13 & 14, then with Goodchild & O'Connell at the line, the Conqs established a 20-15 margin. The teams essentially swapped points the rest of the way.
Game 2 [23-25]: Most of the first half of game 2 consisted of Morro Bay taking small leads and Cabrillo catching them. There were ties at 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 12, then Kylie Gacad served the Pirates to a 5 point (17-12) lead. Serving by Miss Brooks & Nikki Friend and kills by three players brought the Conqs back to even at 20-all, but a kill, and a killer serve by Hoose put the Pirates back up two (22-20). Cabrillo made it interesting, climbing to with-in a single point twice (23-22, 24-23), but couldn't close the gap.
Game 3 [25-17]: This is where the match turned, Morro Bay gave the locals a bit of an opening, and Cabrillo crashed through. After a side-out swap, Cabrillo reeled off 7 points behind Kayla Brooks serve. The Pirates cut the margin to 9-4, but the Conqs, with Friend & O'Conner at the helm, pushed the lead out to a differential of eight (13-5). A series of small surges ensued, but Cabrillo extended the lead to nine (19-10). Morro Bay didn't fold, however. With Bella Malpee serving, and Kia Gacad & Nicky Subler pounding shots to the floor, the Pirates closed to with-in four (20-16). This time though, Hilliard's charges finished strong - a Pluim block, a Lynes ace, and a pair of big hits by Kayla Brooks, including the game-winner, finished it off.
Game 4 [25-17]: Perhaps Cabrillo had a bit of a let-down, or the Pirates were fired up, but Morro Bay raced out to a 4-0 start. Kiley Shae Aldridge behind the line, and kills by Farley, O'Conner, and Brooks, erased that deficit, and created a 9-5 margin. The Conqs gave up the serve on a net violation, but got it right back on a service error. The game got kind of sloppy, and Morro Bay climbed back to a sole point (13-12). A Cabrillo timeout was follwed by a Brooks kill, and Goodchild serving 5 straight to make the score 18-13. The two squads the mostly traded side-outs the rest of the way.
Conq (17-13, 7-5 LPL) Stats (Sucessful serves recieved included in digs):
Kiley Shae Aldridge - 26 assists, 3 kills, 2 aces, 15 digs; Kristina Goodchild - 45 digs, 1 ace; Kayla Brooks - 9 kills, 6 blocks, 9 digs; Brianna Farley - 6 kills, 4 blocks, 2 assists, 4 digs; Felicia Bowen - 4 kills, 5 digs; Kelly O'Donnell - 2 kills, 2 aces, 2 digs, 1 block; Cathy Lynes - 15 digs, 3 aces; Caitlin Harvey-Morgan - 3 kills, 2 digs; Lauren Pluim - 1 kill, 1 block, 2 digs; Kady Detemple - 8 digs; Nikki Friend - 3 digs. Rhiannon Saxe - DNP.
MB Pirates (8-18, 7-5 LPL): with Nicky Subler15 kills, while Kylie Gacad dished 28 assists and Monica Santiago had 15 digs.
Junior Varsity
Cabrillo 2, Morro Bay 0
[25-7, 25-22]
After breezing to an easy win in game 1, the junior Conqs hit the snooze button midway through game 2. Starting with the score knotted at 8-all, the Pirates Sarah Harris & Jamie James helped establish a 14-9 Morro Bay advantage. Cabrillo woke up, worked it back to ties at 15 & 16, before taking a 4-point (22-18) lead of their own. Both side mostly traded points the rest of the game.
Santa Ynez 3, Nipomo 1
[25-12, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19]
Pirates (20-9, 12-0): Danielle Carlson - 16 kills, Rachel Szyller - 10 kills.
Titans (17-13, 7-5 LPL): Cristina Ozzimo - 13 digs, 22 assists, 6 aces; Stephanie Persky - 10 kills, 12 digs, 5 aces; Sarah Stahl - 30 digs, 2 aces; Siahna O’Connor - 6 kills, 2 aces, 6 digs.
Templeton 3, Lompoc 0
[25-19, 25-8, 25-12]
Eagles (18-12, 7-5 LPL): Natalie Madson - 11 kills, Carly Roth - 5 aces.
LPL Boys Water Polo
LPL Tournament
Preliminaries (Tuesday) at Nipomo
Round 1
Game 1: #6 Seed [Morro Bay] 4 vs #3 Seed [Cabrillo] 14
Game 2: # 5 Seed [Lompoc] 4 vs # 4 Seed [Santa Maria] 11
Note: #1 & #2 Seeds had Byes
Round 2
Game 3: High Seed Winner [#3 Cabrillo] 6 vs #2 Seed [Nipomo] 12
Game 4: Low Seed Winner [#4 Santa Maria] 9 vs #1 Seed [Santa Ynez] 20
Finals (Thursday) at Nipomo
5th Place (3 pm):
#6 Morro Bay 5 vs #5 Lompoc 3
In the fourth year of the Pirate program they collected a couple of "1sts" with this win - 1st win vs Lompoc & 1st 4 win season. Morro Bay led 2-1 at halftime, went up 4-1 midway through the 3rd period, saw Lompoc cut the margin to one (4-3) late in the 3rd quarter, before icing the game with a goal in the fourth.
Pirates (4-19, 1-6 LPL): Goals - Tyler Fraser two, Keary Kennedy 1, Shane Crockett 1, Nik Benko 1. Saves - Mac Reinhart 12.
Braves (1-6 LPL): Goals - Myles Holmlund 2, Jose Vargas 1. Saves - David Barber 11
3rd Place (4 pm): {Story}
# 4 Santa Maria 9 vs #3 Cabrillo 14
[8-1 halftime]
Last time Cabrillo went to the subs early and struggled to a 6-4 win over the Saints. This time they waited until they had a 12-1 lead in the 3rd period before swapping out everybody until late in the fourth, and coasting to the win.
Conqs (5-3 LPL): Goals - Marcus Thiele 5, Anthony Taylor 3, Emmett Hill 2, Aaron Hay 2, Zach Olivera 1, Nick Hines 1.
Saints (3-5 LPL): Goals - Damien Juarez 3, Jacob Buentiempo 3, Manny Balderama 1, Phil Espinoza 1, Garrett Gin 1.
Championship (5 pm): {Story}
#2 Nipomo 6 vs #1 Santa Ynez 10
[4-4 at halftime]
Pirates (7-0 LPL): Goals - Lucas Lastra 4, Elijah Ozimec 3, Adam Parlato 3. Saves - William Mann 19.
Titans (5-2 LPL): Goals - Marc Baker 3, J.W. Dobbie 2, Derek Seaman 1. Saves - Kurt Wilenius 13.
Santa Ynez is ranked #1 in CIF-SS Div 7, Nipomo is #3. The Pirates won the regular season match-up 12-10 at Nipomo.
Frosh Football
@ Cabrillo 43, Santa Maria 0
People sometimes speak of an event being "over from the opening gun". Welcome to this one. The scheduled game start was 3:30, the same time as 7th period classes on campus let out. The Conqs returned the opening kickoff for a TD. They were up 13-0 before some faculty members, who left immediately after class, were able to transit the several hundred yards from their classrooms - and they weren't slow.
Cabrillo substituted early and often, and players with open field in front of them would get the first down and then step out of bounds. Next Thursdays contest with Lompoc in the 'Really Little 'Big Game' " figures to be much more competitive.
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