by Isaiah Murtaugh, Sports Editor
10 November 2012
The first few points of the first set, the Poly girls looked like they would run roughshod over the girls from Chatsworth, California the same way they had demolished the Inland Valley League en route to a perfect 12-0 league record and 20-3 overall record. A few well-placed hits put Poly up 4-0 to start the first set, but Sierra Canyon caught up midway through the set, and after a long back-and-forth match, the Lady Bears dropped their last game of the season (25-22) (21-25) (25-18) (22-25) (13-15).
After closing out the first set, Poly came out swinging in the second, jumping early to a five-point lead. The Lady Bears caught the mid-set blues, however, and a few crafty kills by setter Justus Tuiosolega (11) were not enough to keep Sierra Canyon from orchestrating a ten-point swing to lead by five. Poly finally stopped the bleeding, but was not able to make up the lost ground.
Middle blockers Skyler Allen (12) and Mathea Elnar (12) were dominant all night, but not as much as in the third set. The two seniors controlled the net all set long, throwing up blocks and throwing down kills against the Lady Trailblazers. In the fourth set, Sierra Canyon finally unlocked Poly’s block, setting away from it to go ahead 5-1 at the start and eventually lead by eight points. Poly eventually started reeling themselves back into it, but was not able to make up the lost ground.
The last set seemed to be more of the same at first, with Poly quickly falling behind 7-13. The Bears turned it around, however, after Poly head coach Christina Gordon called a timeout.
“Coach told us we worked too hard all season just to have it end, and that we already knew how to counter them, but we just needed to execute it,” Allen said.
Some big plays by Allen and a service ace by Melissa Moe (11) brought the Bears back to within one point and brought everyone in the stands to their feet, but Poly’s final serve landed out of bounds and Sierra Canyon fans flooded the court.