Dade girls' volleyball: Sunset defeats Southwest in close match

BY ALDEN GONZALEZSpecial to The Miami Herald

If Tuesday's girls' volleyball match was a contest between two teams headed in opposite directions, it didn't show.

Southwest had not made it to the regional playoffs since 2005 but was sitting five games above .500 and looked poised to retake District 15-6A.

Sunset, on the other hand, had claimed two consecutive district titles -- including getting to the third round of the playoffs in 2007 -- but graduated six seniors from last season's team and seemed to be on the decline.

But the Knights still have outside hitter Lucy Perez, and they're not ready to give up control of the district to Southwest just yet, and they showed it in a 25-23, 25-22, 25-23 win.

''We're pushing,'' said Perez, a senior who had 17 kills. ``We lost to Braddock the other day -- that kind of put us down -- but we had a team meeting and basically told them, `We have to push, and we have to want it.'

``We came out here, and we wanted it.''

Perez wanted it more than anybody.

In a Game 1 that featured nine ties and seven lead changes, Sunset (7-9, 6-5) rolled off four consecutive points to take an 18-17 lead and, after going back-and-forth in the last few points, Perez clinched it with her seventh kill of the game for a 25-23 win.

She then registered a spike and an ace to give her team a 25-22 win in Game 2. And, in the final game -- which saw the Knights roll off five points in a row to take a 19-14 lead -- Perez delivered the final blow with a spike down the line for a 25-23 victory and the match clincher.

''They knew they were the underdogs going into this game, and they just came out to have a great time and play some volleyball,'' said Sunset coach Charly Ball-llovera, whose team also lost to Southwest (10-6, 7-3) earlier this year. ``These girls are fighters, and they're going to fight until the end.''

GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL

• Westminster Christian d. Pine Crest 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20: Leading the way for the Warriors (11-5) was Taylor Chao who had 17 kills and eight digs. Julie Trembley had 17 kills and 11 digs. Rebecca Acevedo added 41 assists, eight aces, and four blocks. Dianna Etzold finished with 11 kills, eight aces and four blocks.

• Redland Christian d. Colonial Christian 25-7, 25-6, 25-10: Kaylyn Carr led the Falcons (11-0) with 10 kills, 15 aces, two digs and three assists. Karlee Carr had three kills, 13 aces, nine assists and two digs. Vanessa Diaz had 12 aces and two digs.

• Ferguson d. Braddock 21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-17: Kristin Walewski led the Falcons (16-2) with 38 assists, 13 digs and two aces. Alexandra Beverly had 16 kills, three aces and nine digs. Danielle Pohl had 12 kills, two blocks and five digs.

• Florida Christian d. University 25-6, 25-9, 25-14: Natalie Fontela led the Patriots (12-2) with 12 points, five aces and nine digs. Natalie Jimenez had 18 digs and six points. Cristina Abreu added nine kills, six points and two blocks.

• Palmer Trinity d. Killian 26-24, 25-14, 25-20: Paulina Prieto led the Falcons (11-5) with 11 kills and four blocks. Kristen Titley had nine kills and two aces. Laura Posada had four kills, three blocks and two aces.

• Archbishop Curley d. Westwood Christian 26-24, 25-22: Betty Masseus led the Knights (8-5) with five aces, three kills, and two digs. Victoria Novinger added four aces and six kills. Melissa Charles had two aces, three kills and four digs.

 

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