Estancia girls’ volleyball just misses on league title, looking forward to CIF
A spot in school history eluded the Estancia girls’ volleyball team, as the Eagles were unable to close out host La Quinta on Tuesday in the Coast League championship match.
Estancia missed out on perhaps its best chance to date to give the program its first league title, as the Aztecs rallied past the Eagles 22-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-7 in the league finale.
“We’ve kind of been focusing on CIF since the beginning,” said Jake Melcer, the second-year head coach of Estancia. “Last year, we kind of [were] unlucky. We lost the draw by points at the very end, so we kind of wanted to get some redemption for that, so CIF has kind of been our main focus... but we secured CIF, and this was just kind of a nice addition to try to fight for.”
Jenna Schroeder, a senior outside hitter and two-year captain of the Eagles, was heavily leaned upon by her teammates. She had a team-leading 17 kills and a match-best seven service aces.
“It’s still a really big accomplishment,” Schroeder said of qualifying for the postseason. “I’m really proud. We felt a little robbed last year because we didn’t get to go [to the CIF Southern Section playoffs]. … This year, I wanted to make sure [of that], and also, end my career here with a big going to playoffs and making our run in that.”
Junior outside hitter Abigail McIntyre had seven kills and two aces for Estancia (15-9, 6-2 in the Coast League). Senior middle blocker Briget Anguiano had two kills, two aces and a couple of block assists. Senior middle blocker Emily Loza provided four kills and one block. Senior setter Evelyn Maya distributed 24 assists, adding two kills and an ace.
Estancia’s hunt for the program’s first league title was known going into the match, said Schroeder, who said there was added pressure in facing the Aztecs on their senior night. A large crowd filled the bleachers with the La Quinta seniors playing their final regular season home match and the league title on the line.
La Quinta (12-6, 7-1), which went undefeated in winning the Garden Grove League title last season, forged a comeback behind boundless energy from the home faithful.
“I’m always a little worried on senior night, too, because there’s so much pomp and circumstance, so much that’s not volleyball-oriented, that’s more celebratory, which I love and I love for the girls, but it can really make you wonder if they’re focused and they’re ready to play,” La Quinta coach Michelle Rose said. “We didn’t have as much focus the first couple of games. We started slow, but what I’m really, really impressed with and really happy about is that we had the fight and the heart to come back.”
Outside hitter Lesly Perez had 18 kills and six aces to lead La Quinta. Middle blocker Claudia Trinh-Vu added 11 kills and a block, and outside hitter Jelena Tran chipped in with eight kills and two aces.
Setter Helene Trantien contributed 41 assists and three aces. Trinity Vu served up four aces, and Daisy Ngo also had three aces.
The CIF Southern Section will release its girls’ volleyball playoff pairings on Saturday at 10 a.m.
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