By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
Having received the No. 5 seed in the City Open Division boys volleyball playoffs, Palisades did not get to begin the postseason in its own gym. Instead, the Dolphins traveled north on the 405 to Granada Hills to try to take down the No. 4 Highlanders, who finished third in the West Valley League behind defending City champion Chatsworth and El Camino Real. The Dolphins used the slight as fuel in a 25-17, 28-26, 30-28 quarterfinal sweep.
“We felt disrespected with the No. 5 seed,” senior outside hitter Pierce Bergstein said. “We should’ve been higher and this result proves that. Knowing this could’ve been our last game definitely lit a fire under us!”
Bergstein’s emphatic kill gave Palisades a set point in the second set and a crosscourt spike by Enzo Torres gave the Western League champions a two sets to none lead.
The Dolphins went up 21-14 in the third set, looking to close out the match qucikly, but the Highlanders chipped away point by point and eventually nudged ahead 24-23. A joust at the net went Palisades’ way and Bergstein’s kill gave his team a match point that was erased by a serve long. Finally, on the third match point, the Highlanders werecalled for a double touch and junior libero Sean Wahlig could breathe a sight of relief knowing there would be practice the next day.
“I wasn’t concerned because a seed is just a number—it’s still the same amount of games to win the championship. We had really good practices leading up to this and we brought what we worked on to the court.”
Closing out matches is something Palisades struggled with throughout the season so being able to finish off the Highlanders was a confidence boost for Bergstein.
“In so many of those situations we’ve lost this year but we learned we can’t drop our energy when we get ahead,” he said. “We just had our three best practices of the season. We put ouselves in this predicament so there’s no more messing around.”
Palisades’ reward was a semifinal showdown Tuesday at No. 1-seeded Chatsworth, which split two meetings with Palisades this season, losing a tight best-of-three match at the Venice Invitational and humbling the Dolphins in straight sets in the rematch at its own tournament. The Chancellors lost in four sets to Palisades in the City finals in 2022 but got revenge with a finals sweep last spring at Cal State Northridge.
“This is a chance for us to beat the top seed before the finals,” Wahlig said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
If victorious, the Dolphins will play Eagle Rock or ECR for the title Saturday at 6 p.m. at CSUN.