First published in the Oct. 20 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
The La Cañada High School varsity girls’ volleyball team ended the regular season as back-to-back undefeated Rio Hondo League champions after sweeping host Monrovia, 26-24, 25-14, 25-21, last Thursday. The Spartans (10-0 in league, 30-6 overall) successfully defended last year’s title and haven’t lost a league match since 2019.
Junior Haley Clark collected 13 kills, four assists and one ace, while senior Nikki Hughes finished with nine kills and two aces. Junior Tatum Purdy racked up 29 assists, four aces and three kills, while sophomore Ashby Zubchevich produced seven kills and one ace. Senior Kate Shaw recorded three aces and senior Rachael Salit posted two aces. Sophomore Katie McGuinness and freshman Vani Tatoulian each had two kills, while junior Chloe Nussbaum tallied two assists.
La Cañada earned its second sweep in as many days after defeating visiting San Marino 25-15, 25-14, 25-19 on senior night last Tuesday. Hughes collected 11 kills, four blocks and one dig, Shaw tallied eight kills, six digs, two aces, two assists and one block, and Salit produced 11 digs and four kills. Zubchevich finished with six kills, Clark had four kills, and Emma Reed registered three blocks and two kills.
Nussbaum racked up 19 digs, four assists, three aces and one kill, Purdy had 18 assists, five digs and one ace, and sophomore Danica Eggleston recorded 13 assists, four digs, one kill and one ace. Tatoulian posted two kills, two digs and one block, junior Maya Dingle had two aces, one block and one dig, and McGuinness had one kill and one block.
LCHS previously swept visiting Claremont, 25-15, 25-14, 25-19. Hughes and Clark each finished with 11 kills, four digs and one block. Zubchevich collected seven kills, four digs and one block, Purdy recorded 20 assists, nine digs, two aces, one kid and one block, and Nussbaum registered 12 digs, five assists and three aces. Salit tallied six digs, four kills, two aces and one block, Shaw produced five digs, two kills and one block, and Tatoulian had five digs, three blocks, two kills and one assist. Eggleston had eight assists and two digs, McGuinness posted two blocks and one kill, and Dingle had one ace and one dig.
The Spartans will look to extend their three-match win streak in their CIF-SS Division II postseason home opener on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m.
FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART
The Tologs ended the regular season by narrowly losing at Mayfield Senior in Pasadena in a nonleague “Dig Pink” fundraising match, 24-26, 25-17, 23-25, 25-11, 15-10, last Friday.
Senior Nikki Garriola amassed 10 kills and 18 digs, junior Luisa Madrigal racked up eight kills, 10 digs and two blocks, and junior Veronica Udell tallied six kills, three blocks and two digs. Junior Mikayla Hsieh collected 17 assists, 16 digs and three kills, senior Charlotte Taylor registered 11 digs, and sophomore Piper Scherbert posted five blocks, one kill and one dig. Junior Lindsey Du produced nine digs and three assists, while sophomore Ally Du recorded seven digs, seven assists and one ace. Sophomore Sophia Astacaan finished with two blocks, while senior Ellamae Fortin had one dig.
Flintridge Sacred Heart won a thrilling five-set match over visiting Louisville High of Woodland Hills, 17-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-15, 15-8, in its Angelus League finale last Wednesday. Garriola amassed 19 kills, 21 digs, three aces and two blocks, Madrigal racked up 10 kills, five digs and two blocks, and Scherbert registered eight kills, five blocks and four digs. Hsieh tallied 18 assists, 14 digs, six kills, four aces and four blocks, Ally Du posted 23 assists, nine digs and six aces, Lindsey Du recorded 20 digs, and Taylor had 18 digs and three aces. Udell collected six kills and two digs, while Astacaan finished with one kill, one block and two digs.
FSHA returned to league action and lost at Chaminade High in West Hills 25-21, 25-14, 25-11 last Monday. Garriola collected 12 kills, 13 digs and two aces, Hsieh recorded 11 digs, five assists, one kill, one ace and one block, and Scherbert tallied four kills, three blocks and two digs. Udell finished with four digs, three kills and three assists, Lindsey Du registered seven digs, four assists and one ace, and Taylor had 10 digs. Ally Du posted six assists and four digs, Madrigal produced one kill, one block and one dig, and Astacaan had two digs and one block.
Flintridge Sacred Heart, which finished as league runner-up with a 6-2 record (21-16 overall), will open the CIF-SS Division III postseason at Torrance (23-5 overall) on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m.
FLINTRIDGE PREP
The Wolves lost their regular-season finale in a Prep League rivalry match at Pasadena Poly, 25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 15-7, last Wednesday. Abbie Callaway led the team with 12 kills and 12 digs, while Jessica Powell tallied a team-high three blocks and seven kills. Amelia Bechthold collected five kills and five digs, Natalia Pradhan had a team-high three aces, and Marissa Halley and Jaleen Tseng each recorded seven digs.
Flintridge Prep lost a league match to visiting Rio Hondo Prep of Arcadia, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-20, last Tuesday, as Callaway racked up team-high marks in kills (16), digs (19) and aces (four). Powell registered a team-high nine blocks and 12 kills, while Lucy Liu finished with five kills, four blocks and four digs. Halley tallied 16 digs, Candice Huang registered 13 digs, and Clara Bassuk had three blocks.
Flintridge Prep, which finished fifth in the league standings with a 5-7 record (14-9 overall), will open the CIF-SS Division V postseason at San Dimas (21-10 overall) on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m.
