The La Habra girls volleyball team earned its first victory of the season with a 3-0 nonleague win over Mayfair Thursday evening at La Habra.
The Highlanders (1-1) rallied late in each set to defeat the Monsoons 25-20, 25-22, and 25-23 to the delight of their hometown crowd and first-year head coach Zoe Herrera. Mayfair is 1-1.
“In our opener, I think we played not to lose, but today the girls played much braver and they wanted it,” Herrera said. “This is the kind of win they needed to boost their confidence and prove to themselves that they can compete.”
La Habra was led by Addison Hegedpeth and Kaia Lin who combined for 11 kills and played critical roles in the Highlanders comeback rallies. Kaitlyn Esqueda also recorded 23 digs to help spark La Habra.
“We could hear our friends and family really rooting us on and that really inspired our comeback,” said Lin. “Our goal is to win all of our home games and win league this season.”
“We felt the support from the crowd,” said Hegedpeth, a sophomore. “This win will motivate us and it gives us confidence going forward.”
Trailing 21-16 in the third set, the Highlanders’ aggressive attack forced several Mayfair miscues down the stretch. Led by Cynthia Vest, Hegedpeth, Lin, Kaylee Rodriguez-Sambrano, and Tiffany Salo, La Habra scored nine of the final 11 points in the set to close out the match.
In the first set, the Highlanders suffered a setback when outside hitter Cathryn Wybaczynsky injured her left ankle, forcing her to leave the game. She did not return but indicated after the match she expects to be ready to play against Fullerton next Tuesday.
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