The Palisades High girls varsity volleyball team is accustomed to winning championships.
On Saturday, however, it was the junior varsity squad’s turn to celebrate after capturing the title at the 34th annual Venice Invitational.
Guided by new coach Jeff Nakagawa (wth the assistance of varsity player Jamie Robertson), the Dolphins won their pool and went on to finish first out of 12 schools.
The road to the title included victories over Kennedy, St. Monica, Culver City (twice) and then Long Beach Wilson in the finals.
The team consisted of setters Natalie Catapano and Gabi Kawasaki; libero Lua McKnight; middle blockers Hazel Irving and Bianca Dolotta; defensive specialists Alida Zanettini and Katie Roberts; outside hitters Jisele Richardson, Paige Monaco and Alex Joannides; and opposites Avery Ufberg and Brooke Stratton.
The other schools in the field were Venice, Orthopaedic, Sylmar, Da Vinci, Culver City, Cleveland, Chatsworth, Kennedy, St. Monica and University.
Palisades’ varsity team is 14-1 and hosts Venice at 4:30 Friday in a battle for first place in the Western League. The Dolphins won both head-to-head matchups last year.
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