Spikers Dethroned by Garfield

Perhaps it was inexperience. Perhaps it was the hostile crowd. Perhaps it was facing an unfamiliar opponent. Whatever the reason, the Palisades High girls volleyball team’s reign as City champions ended Monday night in East Los Angeles. Facing an older, more experienced team, the Dolphins lost to host Garfield, 18-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-22 in the second round of the playoffs, bringing to a close a season that began with hopes of defending the City title Palisades had won last November. However, the difference between the team that took the court four days ago and last year’s squad was night and day. ‘I realize this team is younger and obviously it had a different coach then, but I don’t think inexperience is the reason we lost today,’ PaliHi head coach Cheri Stuart said. ‘If that was the case, we would’ve folded instead of coming back in the last game. I’m proud of the fact that the girls didn’t quit, but our communication broke down and we just didn’t execute well enough to win.’ After playing what head coach Cheri Stuart described as their ‘best match of the season’ in a first-round victory over Eagle Rock, the Dolphins seemingly forgot how to return serve or pass in the last three games against the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (14-1). Garfield senior Christal Lara served six of her 13 aces in the second game, sparking a 7-0 scoring run that turned momentum in the home team’s favor for good. ‘We kind of got intimidated by that one server,’ Pali freshman Jenna McCallister admitted. ‘We lost a few points, we fell behind and then the whole team got down.’ Jenna’s older sister, Kaylie, echoed her siblings’ assessment: ‘When you win the first game as easily as we did, it’s easy to get a little overconfident. But when she [Lara] started serving like that it got us thinking we might not be as wonderful as we thought we were.’ The McCallisters are two grades apart, meaning they will never play together on the same club team. So next season, Kaylie’s last in high school, will be one more opportunity to play together on the same court. ‘It was interesting,’ Kaylie said of playing with her sister. ‘We’ve never played together before, except on the beach with our dad, and it’s been fun.’ In the first game, 11th-seeded Palisades (11-4) seemed capable of sweeping the Bulldogs out of their own gym. The Dolphins took an early lead and never relinquished it thanks to solid play by the McCallister sisters and freshman Alex Lunder, who finished with 10 kills and three blocks. Another freshman, Alina Kheyfets, added eight kills and two blocks. ‘Palisades didn’t look like a bunch of freshmen in that first game,’ said Garfield coach Carrie Danchok, who has led the Bulldogs to seven consecutive Eastern League titles. ‘We gave them 14 or 15 points and I told my girls, ‘It’s not Christmas yet so stop giving them gifts.” Senior Julie Bracamontes, who finished with 20 digs and 10 kills, predicted Palisades will be a team to watch next year. ‘They may have lost today, but mark my words’they’ll win City again soon,’ Bracamontes said. ‘They’re better than any of the teams in our league and it’s scary to think how good they’ll be by the time they’re all seniors.’ Garfield built a seemingly insurmountable 22-17 lead in the fourth game before the Dolphins closed to within two points. But Natasha Vokhshoori served long on match point, the last of Pali’s 10 service errors in the final three games. ‘We could’ve done a little better,’ Teal Johnson said. ‘It was a combination of them serving better and our own serving going down. Maybe experience was a factor but honestly I don’t think we played very well as a team. We tried to come back at the end but it was too late.’ Change has been the one constant at Palisades recently, with five different coaches heading the program over the past five seasons. Stuart, though, hopes to bring an end to that trend. ‘We didn’t reach the goals I wanted to reach this season but we did make progress in terms of building a foundation for the future. The girls who are coming back will know what I expect and I think we’ll be even better next season.’ After spotting No. 22 Eagle Rock the first game last Thursday night, host Palisades stepped up its level of play to post a convincing 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-13 victory. Setter Diana Grubb had 20 assists while Vokhshoori and Lunder each had nine kills for the Dolphins.