The Ramona Convent Tigers volleyball team won Tuesday’s neutral playoff match against St. Monica Academy by a score of 3-0, at Pasadena’s Mayfield Senior School. The game was part of the 2016 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Girls Volleyball Tournament. The Tigers went into the match with a losing record and were ranked lower […]
The Ramona Convent Tigers volleyball team won Tuesday’s neutral playoff match against St. Monica Academy by a score of 3-0, at Pasadena’s Mayfield Senior School. The game was part of the 2016 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Girls Volleyball Tournament.
The Tigers went into the match with a losing record and were ranked lower than the Crusaders in the division, but ultimately dealt St. Monica a 25-16, 25-15, 25-19 defeat, ending the Crusaders’ season, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
“They’re in a league with Holy Family who we lost to early in the season; they beat them twice,” said Crusaders Coach Darren Bradley, who navigated St. Monica to the school’s first and only CIF championship last season.
St. Monica kept each game close early on, before succumbing to extended scoring runs by the Tigers (9-11), which proved to be insurmountable.
Ramona Convent scored eight unanswered in the first to turn a 9-9 tie into a 16-9 advantage. St. Monica cut the deficit down to as little as five after the 8-0 run, but faltered down the stretch to lose by double-digits.
The same thing happened in the second game, with Ramona Convent taking a 14-7 lead after another 8-0 run to quickly turn a 7-7 tie into a commanding lead, before taking the game and a 2-0 lead.
The Crusaders’ defense was characterized by hitting errors and miscommunication, while the Tigers flowed more nicely on offense in the first two games.
In the third, the Crusaders had their best stretch of the match, scoring seven unanswered, with senior outside hitter Molly Hagan serving. Hagan got things started with a kill and followed it up with one of her two aces in the rotation. The streak gave St. Monica a 13-12 lead after trailing by six eight points prior.
Ramona, however, quickly responded with six straight points to retake a five-point lead at 18-13.
The Crusaders couldn’t come closer this time.
