Palisades’ Jamie Robertson floats the ball over Narbonne’s Taquoia Rounds and Kayla Barnes in last Friday’s City quarterfinal match. Photo: Steve Galluzzo
No practice? No problem. Fires last week forced the closure of local schools and as a result Palisades High girls volleyball coach Carlos Gray had no time to prepare his squad for Friday night’s City Section Open Division quarterfinal against Harbor City Narbonne.
The match was postponed for two days with Palisades’ campus being closed and the team unable to practice, but if the Dolphins were at all rusty they didn’t look it in a 25-21, 25-11, 25-21 sweep of the Marine League winners. The Western League champion Dolphins traded points with the fifth-seeded Gauchos for most of the first set but pulled away.
“Somehow, some way,” Gray tweeted afterward. “We manage to move on. Semifinal on Tuesday against the hottest team in the section.”
Gray was referring to eighth-seeded Cleveland, which upset No. 1 Taft two days earlier. Fourth-seeded Palisades beat the Cavaliers at the CV Tournament. The final is Saturday at 6 p.m. at Birmingham High.
