Taming the Mustangs

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

During the gold medal ceremony following the final match of the Venice Tournament last Saturday, Palisades High girls volleyball head coach Carlos Gray thanked Marlborough for bringing out the best in his team.

“It took a truly great opponent like them to raise our own level of play,” Gray said. “This is one step, one baby step towards our goal.”

After two grueling days, two rounds of pool play and eight total matches, the Dolphins emerged victorious thanks to the serving of Keely McMahon, the blocking of Carly Duffy and Chloe Pettigrew and the hitting of Maddie Fowler, Angelina Burton and Alex Laita, who was named MVP.

“It’s all about playing together as a team,” said Burton, who made All-Tournament. “The plan [in the finals] was to go down the line a lot and serve to the same person most of the time. We need to not let it get in our heads when the other team gets on a run.”

Palisades breezed through the first round of pool play Friday,  sweeping Wildwood, Narbonne and Beverly Hills. It was more of the same Saturday morning as the Dolphins swept Banning, Cleveland and St. Monica to earn a spot in the gold division playoffs.

In the semifinals Saturday afternoon, Palisades faced Taft of Woodland Hills in a match that had all the intensity of a City final.

The Toreadors took the opening set 25-23 on a kill by Nieko Thomas, but Palisades took the second set 25-16 on Laita’s crosscourt kill. The teams traded sideouts in the third set until Fowler put the Dolphins ahead for good at 12-11. McMahon ended it with an ace four points later.

“Outdoor helped me be moreagile and read where the ball is going but I like indoor better because you have more people to support you,” said Laita, a junior who helped Palisades’ beach team to second place in the state in the spring and has verbally committed to the University of Oregon. “We kept everything the same. Coach said ‘This is what we have, so let’s go with it. We always want to beat Taft because they’re a City team.”

Palisades played the final two matches without standout middle blocker Abbey Kearney, who was taking the ACT in Studio City.

Palisades never faced Venice in the tournament, but the teams faced off in their Western League opener the day before and the Dolphins prevailed in four sets.

On Monday, Palisades swept host Hamilton, 25-9, 25-19, 25-11, for their 77th consecutive league victory. The Dolphins last lost a league match Oct. 18, 2010 when they were swept at Venice.