Sierra Canyon girls volleyball wins showdown with Redondo in four sets

REDONDO BEACH — Redondo Union and Sierra Canyon, two of the nation’s top three girls volleyball programs in the latest MaxPreps rankings, met Tuesday for the second time in less than a month.

What started out even at 13-13 in the opening set quickly swung in the visiting Trailblazers’ favor and the Sea Hawks were only able to recover enough to avoid a sweep.

Redondo, ranked second in the MaxPreps rankings, was unable to turn in a repeat performance, dropping a four-set contest, 25-16, 25-16, 15-25, 25-9, to third-ranked Sierra Canyon.

In the first CIF-Southern Section rankings, Redondo was No. 1 and Sierra Canyon was No. 2.

The Trailblazers (12-2) avenged a two-set loss to the Sea Hawks (12-2) on Aug. 16 as part of the Ann Kang Invitational in Hawaii.

Redondo outside hitter Abby Zimmerman said the presence of Sierra Canyon middle blocker Kendall Omoruyi, who is committed to Nebraska, was a difference-maker. Omoruyi, a transfer, was not available for the Trailblazers in the first meeting.

“I think (Omoruyi) brought just a presence,” Zimmerman said. “I think we changed our game plan a little bit around her.”

The Trailblazers were far from a solo act, though. Outside hitters Hanna McGinest and McKenna McIntosh combined for 25 kills and setter Lucky Fasavalu kept the Sea Hawks off balance with 36 assists to go with five kills.

Zimmerman had eight kills, a pair of aces and a block to pace Redondo. Leah Blair chipped in seven kills.

Sierra Canyon rode a strong serve early, including four aces in the second set to take a commanding 2-0 lead. McIntosh had seven of her kills to that point.

Trailblazers coach Stefanie Wigfall said her team had more time to prepare for the rematch. In Hawaii, her team had less than three minutes after advancing past the quarterfinal round.

“We hadn’t had eyes too much on Redondo,” Wigfall said. “The match can always be different when you’ve got some time to study your opponent, understand some things. I think that was the main difference, a little more time to prepare. They’re such a great team.

“Ultimately, the serving is just such a reflection of if your team is able to maintain a high level of focus or not. … I thought we did that well tonight instead of bombing a ball out of bounds or ending their own rally.”

In the opening set, Sierra Canyon’s Eva Jeffries produced an ace to snap the 13-13 tie as part of a 6-0 run to create separation.

In the second set, the Trailblazers’ four aces were part of a 15-8 start to the frame. The Sea Hawks never made a serious run.

“They’re a great serving team,” Zimmerman said. “We were out of system a little bit more than we wanted to be.”

Redondo took advantage of six Sierra Canyon attack errors and produced three service aces of its own to extend the match in the third set.

Zimmerman said a switch in the middle and opposite side provided a spark.

“I just think we came out with a lot of fire and energy,” Zimmerman added. “Our serving was really good that set.”

That fire was quickly extinguished by McGinest, who had six of her match-high 13 kills in the clinching set.

McGinest credited Tanavasu, who mixed in a handful of quick dumps while spreading the ball around.

“When I need a break or anything, she knows when to dump it and put it in the right places,” McGinest said. “I’ve been playing with her for so long. We have a really good connection.”

Redondo used an early timeout while trailing 7-3, but Sierra Canyon pushed the advantage to as many as 16 points.

Omoruyi and Jeffries combined for the match-clinching block.

“In the beginning, they weren’t playing how we expected them to play,” McGinest said. “We just started off really strong and dominated.”