Pali Volleyball Reigns Supreme

It took until the end of the season, but once the Palisades High girls’ varsity volleyball team finally got healthy, there was no stopping the Dolphins from doing what they do best–winning the City championship. Palisades swept Sun Valley Poly, 25-15, 26-24, 25-15 Saturday afternoon at Roybal Learning Center in Los Angeles to capture its first Division II crown and 26th section title in program history. Coach Chris Forrest has led the girls to three section titles in four years and this was by far the most unlikely. For most of the year, Forrest was making changes to his lineup every match, as one starter or another went down with an injury. Yet, in the end, his was the last team standing. “It’s been one thing after another this whole season,” Forrest said. “We never really had a chance to show how good we are because key players have been missing.” On Saturday, fourth-seeded Poly (27-6) saw firsthand just how dominating the Dolphins can be at full strength. Palisades took command from the opening serve, building early leads in each set and quelling every run by the spirited Parrots, who suffered their first loss to a City foe in a best-of-five match. Palisades (23-7-2) was seeded third after losing twice in Western League play to Venice. However, the Dolphins turned the tables on the second-seeded Gondos in the semifinals, winning in four sets in a match Forrest admitted was “easier than he expected.” After the Dolphins ran away with the first set Saturday, Poly put everything it had into the second set in an effort to level the match. Palisades built an 18-13 lead before the Parrots fought back to tie at 23-23. Palisades reached set point on a kill by Molly Kornfeind, but Poly outside hitter Viridiana Gallardo answered with a kill to tie it again. Poly served long to give the Dolphins a second set point and this time freshman middle blocker Jennifer Krems’ spike was blocked out of bounds to give Palisades a commanding two-set lead. “We didn’t know much about them [Poly],” Kornfiend said. “But we worked on a new blocking technique and it worked pretty well.” Sensing that the championship was near, the Dolphins raced to a 20-12 lead in the third on timely sets by Meghan Middleton, kills by Kornfeind and fellow sophomore outside hitter Shanna Scott, steady blocks by middle hitter Yanise Joseph and accurate jump serves from senior captain Kasey Janousek. As noisy fans on Palisades’ side of the gym stood in anticipation of victory, Janousek served on championship point. After the ball crossed back and forth several times the referee blew his whistle and called a net violation against the Parrots–sending Dolphins players into delirium. The City Section switched to enrollment-based playoff divisions last season and the Dolphins were upset by Woodland Hills Taft in the semifinals. Scott’s return from an injury was instrumental to the Dolphins’ playoff success because it allowed them to attack from either wing. “It was good because she is a really big part of the team,” Kornfeind added. “So it helped a lot having her back.” Janousek believes the turning point was losing to Venice the second time. “After that we took our offense to a whole new gear and played with a common goal,” she said. “This is my senior year, my last chance… so I wanted to win City more than anything.” Having returned the City championship to its rightful place, the Dolphins set their sights on the Division II Southern California Regional tournament, which began Tuesday night. Palisades hosted Southern Section Division II-AA runner-up Chino Hills and saw its season come to an abrupt end, 25-17, 25-19, 25-10. “I give them a lot of credit,” Janousek said. “It’s the state playoffs. We were expecting them to be a really good team and they were.” sports@palipost