In a rematch of last year’s City Section Division I final, the Palisades High girls volleyball team was swept by Granada Hills, 25-12, 25-19, 25-23, in Friday’s nonleague match at Granada Hills.
After pushing defending City Division II champion Taft to five games in their opener, the Dolphins (1-2) easily defeated LACES in last Thursday’s first Western League contest, 25-9, 25-7, 25-5, but they were playing from behind all afternoon against the reigning City Division I champion Highlanders (7-3), who squandered a 23-18 lead in the third third set before going ahead on Gabi Villagra’s kill and sealing the win on a net violation.
“I don’t want to say we overestimated their skills because they’re a really good team, but we didn’t believe in ourselves as much as we should’ve in the first game,” said Sasha Gorelik, who started the match at opposite hitter and ended it at middle blocker. “By the third game our intensity was higher, we started getting into our rythym and it was just little mental mistakes.”
Granada Hills built a 7-1 lead in the third set and seemingly had victory in hand before a five-point run pulled Palisades even, 23-23.
“It’s fun being the underdog this time because you don’t have as many expectations to meet as you do when you’re the favorite,” Gorelik said. “It’s almost more gratifying to win as the underdog.”
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