Off to North Section Finals!

Well, volleyball is still with us! Last week the Tigers beat East Nicklaus at home (barely) in 5 games. They played down to their competition as has been their habit, but in fairness, they hadn't played in two weeks because they got a bye on the first round of playoffs. They lost the first game, won the second, lost the third, and had to win the last two in a row to avoid elimination. They won number four with some great contributions from some of the kids that have often not had many opportunities, it was a two point game. Lucy made a couple of great blocks and a hit to score a crucial few points that kept them in game four. In game five the tigers went down 8-4 (in a 15 point game that is often the end of it) when Suzanne Filippini got the serve. Suzie had been really struggling with her serves for most of the second half of the season, but she picked a great time to get it back! She served 10 straight (including at least 4 aces) to get the Tigers to game point!

Happy Tigers!

Really the girls showed a lot of character by coming back to win after being down by 2 to 1. The victory got them a slot against the Los Molinos Bulldogs at Los Molinos (about a 3 hour drive from Portola) last night (Thursday the 18th). Los Mo had whipped the girls twice, and the Tigers had prevailed once (to win the early season tournament) but after the struggle against East Nick it didn't look good for the Lady Tigers. They had made lots of errors (including 5 to 7 missed serves per game) and would definitely have to straighten that out if they were to beat Los Mo in their house.

There was a large home crowd, but it was balanced by a very vocal Tigers rooting section (that be us proud parents). The first game went back and forth point by point with two being the maximum lead until the Tigers edged up by three or so. Final score however was 25-23 PHS! The Bulldogs were shocked, and the Tigers smelled victory.

Buddies!

In game two, it was once again a see-saw contest with the point spread staying within one or two the entire game. The Tigers went up 23-22 and had a chance to get to game point but a miscue brought the Dogs even 23-23. Next play Los Mo pulled ahead to 24-23 and had a shot at the win. The Tigers staved of defeat, and got the serve back at 24-24, then scored two straight including an ace by Ashley Lopez to send the hounds back to their kennel 26-24.

In game 3, you could sense that the momentum was all Tigers as they steadily and inexorably widened the lead. Portola ended up on the long side of a 25-15 score crushing the Bulldogs and advancing to the North Section Championship.

All the girls played very well, and the scoring was more evenly spread than usual with key contributions from Emma Briggs, Anna Roach, Lucy, Suzanne, and Ashley. Lindsay Compton had an excellent game with probably her best kill percentage of the season. Likewise Ellie Kibble set and served extremely well, while adding some well timed kills.

It is a wonderful, but fleeting thing to win a championship game like this. We travel to Red Bluff tomorrow to face Hamilton City in the North Section Championship game. If the girls play with the focus and dedication that the showed last night, they will definitely be in the game. Regardless of that, they won last night, and it is a victory to be savored!!

That's All!