By Rick Assad
Hardly playing like an underdog, the Providence High girls’ volleyball team came out and claimed the first two sets versus Flintridge Prep but couldn’t close the deal at the Fritz B. Burns Events Center on Tuesday evening.
The Wolves proved spunky and rallied for three consecutive sets and prevailed by scores of 22-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-11 in a Prep League match.
The Pioneers (7-8 and 2-4 in league) saw several players who managed Herculean efforts, and they included senior outside hitter Shannon Ferrell (11 kills and two aces), senior middle blocker/outside hitter/opposite hitter Kylie DeVries and senior setter Ava De La Cruz-Catotocan (five aces and two kills).
“We knew they were the favorites coming in and were hoping to knock them out early, but just didn’t have enough to complete the sweep,” first-year Providence coach Sam Tozlian said. “Credit to Flintridge though, they stepped up their game – started making fewer errors and improved their blocking. I’m still proud of the way we played and I’m not losing sleep over this loss.”
The visiting Wolves (9-4 and 1-3 in league) saw junior outside hitter Abbie Calloway and sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Makayla Jones lead the offensive charge.
The third set was pivotal as the Pioneers stormed out to a 9-1 lead.
A push from DeVries (eight kills) made it 1-0 and back-to-back aces from freshman setter Daniella Aves (13 assists) made it 3-0 and 4-0.
A kill from DeVries pushed the advantage to 5-1, De La Cruz-Catotocan’s service winner made it 6-1 and Ferrell’s blast made it 7-1.
The Wolves trimmed the lead to 10-6 when Ferrell’s smash hit the net and then inched within 13-8 on a kill from Calloway.
Flintridge Prep then grabbed seven of the next nine points and tied it at 15-15.
The Pioneers moved ahead 17-15 on a stuff from DeVries, but the Wolves tied it at 20-20 on Calloway’s kill.
Flintridge Prep claimed five of the next seven points for the set as Calloway’s kills made it 23-21 and 25-22.
“Our strategy was to break Flintridge’s confidence early, which was working well in the first two sets. But we came in knowing we were the underdogs,” said assistant coach Mario Adriano. “Even in the beginning of the third set during the huddle, we told our girls that even with a two-set lead, Flintridge cannot be counted out because they will be ready to answer.”
Adriano then added: “At the end of things, Flintridge regained their confidence and overwhelmed our defense as we tired out and faltered in our discipline,” he said. “But overall, myself and all the coaches thought it was a hard-fought match on both sides.”
In the deciding set, Flintridge Prep dominated in the early portion as the visitors led 5-2 on a kill from junior middle blocker/outside hitter Akemi Fu as Providence asked for time out.
However, the Pioneers rallied and evened it at 5-5 when the Wolves touched the net and led 6-5 on a kill from senior middle blocker Luciana Mongeli (three kills).
Flintridge Prep tied it at 6-6 and then proceeded to pull ahead 10-6 on a kill from Jones.
The Wolves then marched ahead 13-9 on an ace from Jones as the hosts asked for a stoppage in time and secured the match and set on an ace from junior middle blocker/outside hitter Jaycee Sullivan.
The opening game saw the Pioneers race to a 2-0 on a block from DeVries and led 3-1 on a winner from sophomore middle hitter/opposite hitter Cat Gambaro (eight kills).
The Wolves seized the lead 10-6 on an ace from Jones and led 11-8 on a kill from Calloway.
Aves added an ace for the Pioneers that cut the lead to 14-12 and De La Cruz-Catotocan’s ace leveled it at 15-15.
From this point, Providence outscored Flintridge Prep 6-1 and led 21-16 on a kill from DeVries.
In short order, it became 23-16 on a hitting error by the Wolves and then took the set on a push from Mongeli.
Providence dominated the second game as the Pioneers led 6-2 on an ace from senior defensive specialist Sofia Martinez.
Ferrell’s kill made it 10-4, a winner from Gambaro extended it to 14-7 and a hit from Kailey Ho (four kills) made it 18-8.
A dagger from DeVries pushed the lead to 20-8, Mongeli added a push as it became 24-14 and Ferrell’s kill made it 25-14 and two sets to none in favor of the Pioneers.
The fourth game was a see-saw affair with Providence taking the early lead 5-2 on a push from DeVries.
A winner from Jones made it 9-6 in favor of the Wolves and a kill from Calloway extended the lead to 14-10.
The Pioneers rallied to even it at 14-14 on a co-block from Ho and DeVries and when DeVries served out, the Wolves led 18-17.
Jones then added a kill to make it 19-17 and Jones collected a stuff to make it 22-18. A Jones bullet made it 23-18.
The set was made official in Flintridge Prep’s column on Calloway’s winner.
