First published in the Aug. 25 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
LCHS – PHOTO GALLERY
The La Cañada High School varsity girls’ volleyball team won the Division I silver bracket in the second weekend of the Lakewood Molten Classic on Saturday. LCHS finished 3-1 in the tournament with their lone loss coming against host Lakewood the first weekend.
The Spartans defeated Notre Dame Academy of Los Angeles, 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, to claim their second victory of the afternoon, as senior Nikki Hughes produced a team-high 24 kills with five digs and one block. Junior Haley Clark collected 18 kills, three aces, three blocks and seven digs, junior Tatum Purdy tallied 47 assists, one kill, two aces, one block and five digs, and junior Chloe Nussbaum recorded 33 digs, five aces and two assists.
Freshman Vani Tatoulian registered five kills, one ace, one block and three digs, senior Rachael Salit posted four kills, one ace, one assist and 12 digs, sophomore Katie McGuinness recorded two kills and four blocks, and sophomore Danica Eggleston had one ace, two digs and one assist.
LCHS opened the second weekend of tournament play with a 25-13, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21 victory over Rancho Cucamonga. Clark collected 15 kills, six aces, three blocks and nine digs while Hughes posted 13 kills, three blocks, three digs and two assists. Purdy produced 30 assists, two kills, three aces and 10 digs, while Nussbaum tallied 30 digs, one kill, three aces and three assists. Salit notched seven kills, one ace, 10 digs and two assists, Tatoulian registered seven kills, one ace, two blocks, two digs and one assist, and McGuinness recorded one kill, six blocks and one ace. Eggleston had two digs and three assists, while junior Maya Dingle finished with one block, one dig and one assist.
After starting the season with three road matchups, La Cañada hosted Chaminade High of West Hills in its home opener but lost the nonleague contest in a five-set battle, 25-17, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 13-15, last Thursday. Clark tallied 21 kills, five blocks and 15 digs, Hughes produced 14 kills, one ace, four blocks, 10 digs and two assists, and Salit posted 10 kills, 10 digs and one assist. Purdy finished with 41 assists, four kills, one ace, one block and nine digs, while Nussbaum registered 22 digs and seven assists. Tatoulian tallied three kills, three aces, three blocks and two digs, Dingle and Eggleston had one kill and one ace, respectively, and McGuinness added five blocks.
The Spartans claimed a 27-25, 26-27, 25-23, 25-13 nonleague victory over at Hart High in Newhall on Aug. 16 as Clark collected 21 kills, one ace, five blocks and seven digs. Hughes produced 19 kills, five blocks, 11 digs and one assist, Salit finished with 12 kills, seven digs and one assist, Purdy notched 41 assists, two blocks and 14 digs and Nussbaum logged 20 digs, two aces and six assists. Tatoulian tallied two kills, one ace, six blocks and three digs, Dingle posted one kill, McGuinness had one kill, four blocks and one dig, Eggleston recorded one ace, two digs and two assists and senior Kate Shaw registered one dig.
LCHS (4-2 overall) will visit Marlborough High in Los Angeles for a nonleague match on Thursday, Aug. 25, at 5 p.m.
FLINTRIDGE PREP – PHOTO GALLERY
The Wolves have won five of their first six matches to open the season, including recently taking four of five at the Hollywood Showcase Tournament at Burbank Providence on Thursday, Aug. 18, and Saturday, Aug. 20.
Flintridge Prep concluded tournament play with a 1-1 record on Saturday with its lone loss coming against the eventual champion Mary Star of the Sea of San Pedro, 25-20, 20-25, 15-13. The Wolves ended the day with a sweep over Glendale, 25-16, 25-16.
Flintridge Prep swept its three matches to open tournament play on Thursday by defeating Muir High of Pasadena, 25-18, 25-18; Holy Martyrs Armenian High of Encino, 25-18, 25-18; and Crossroads High of Santa Monica, 25-10, 26-24.
Abbie Callaway led the team with 22 kills and 34 digs in tournament play, while Amelia Bechthold tallied eight blocks. Jessica Powell was limited to only two matches on the final day but managed to produce 10 kills on 12 swings.
The Wolves previously defeated visiting Burbank in their nonleague season opener, 25-18, 20-25, 25-17, 25-16, on Aug. 16. Callaway led the team with 12 kills and two aces, Clara Bassuk produced eight kills and two aces, and Bechthold notched five kills and one block. Marissa Halley and Lucy Liu each recorded two kills, Natalia Pradhan and Maddie Chiu each had one kill while the latter added an ace, and Angie Cheng and Jaleen Tseng each registered a pair of aces.
Flintridge Prep (5-1 overall) will open Prep League play by hosting Mayfield Senior on Thursday, Aug. 25, at 5:30 p.m.
FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART – PHOTO GALLERY
The Tologs lost a tough nonleague matchup at powerhouse South Pasadena, 21-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-15, on Tuesday.
FSHA opened the match strong by trading points with the Tigers in a back-and-forth battle that saw seven lead changes. Sacred Heart faced a three-point deficit, 16-19, when junior Lindsey Du took the ball, who swung the momentum in the Tologs’ favor on four consecutive serves including a pair of aces. After building a narrow 24-21 lead, senior Nikki Garriola put the Tigers away with an ace to give FSHA a first-set victory.
“We knew South Pas had way more hitters than us and if we were going to stay close with them during this match, it would be on the service line,“ FSHA head coach Trent Tcheng said. “The first set we were hitting our targets, hitting our zones and we were passing decently. The rest of the match, it all kind of went out the door.”
Garriola tallied a team-high 12 kills and nine digs in addition to her ace, while Lindsey Du collected four total aces and 13 digs.
“Nikki had some decent swings but really what we’re fighting with her is making sure that she’s consistent throughout the entire match. Right now, I think she’s just a little bit hesitant, which puts her in a bad position when she’s not getting that full approach,” Tcheng said. “Lindsey was probably our most consistent server; she’s gonna serve tough. We give her the most leeway to make mistakes just because of how aggressive she is, but she can also pinpoint most of her serves.”
Juniors Veronica Udell and Luisa Madrigal registered six and four kills, respectively, while sophomore Piper Scherbert had three kills and four blocks. Senior Keira Limon produced a kill and an ace, senior Charlotte Taylor had 10 digs and a kill, and senior Erin Carney recorded a kill. Senior Emily Smith and sophomore Ally Du each notched one ace.
The Tologs (1-1 overall) will visit La Salle College Preparatory in Pasadena for a nonleague match on Thursday, Aug. 25, at 6:30 p.m.
