Irvine and Crean Lutheran lose in CIF playoffs after solid runs

El RANCH0 3, IRVINE 0: Irvine’s girls volleyball team lost to El Rancho in three sets Saturday in the Division 6 semifinals at El Rancho. The scores were 25-14, 25-17, 25-19.,

“Head Coach Adelaida Picon really had her team fired up to play amazing defense,” said Irvine Coach Noel Nguyen. “Consistently digging up our attacks, setter Yammile Picon was able to find her favorite target all game long, Roselia Cazares. Cazares did a great job being explosive to the ball and keeping herself available to attack the entire court.”

Nguyen said his team battled.

“Our girls did a wonderful job not giving up,” he said. “During the first set, we took longer than usual to figure out our opponent’s offense. But with each point, we were improving our reads defensively and kept working hard at attacking the soft spots in their defense.

“Senior outside hitter Nikki Chen led our team in kills and digs, and sophomore outside hitter Taylor Tran provided us a huge spark defensively to put us in a position to win game three. However, the game didn’t end up in our favor.

“Sophomore Maili Walker was steady in the front row, contributing as our block leader and as our anchor for our defense as it improved throughout the match.

“Congratulations to El Rancho, and we wish them luck in the finals against in Santa Barbara,” Nguyen said.

Irvine will return to competition in the CIF State Tournament beginning Tuesday, Nov. 9, Nguyen said. The Vaqueros qualified after reaching the semifinals.

OXNARD 3, CREAN LUTHERAN 1: Oxnard defeated the Saints in the quarterfinal round Division 5 match on Wednesday. The scores were 25-20, 31-29, 18-25, 25-22.

Crean Lutheran Coach Monty Johns said he was proud of the way his squad competed on the road.

“The girls battled for every point Wednesday night against a tough team from Oxnard High School,” he said. “We were missing our starting right side attacker Payton Tully, and Mia Rogers who attacks from the left side played with a swollen ankle.”

“All the girls had to dig deep and battle for every point, which is exactly what they did.  Madison Moore took 46 swings and hit .370 and Rogers hit an amazing .229 on that bad ankle. Junior Aynsley Bryan took over the right side and did an amazing job.  Senior setter Katie Thies clearly did not want her career at Crean Lutheran to end Wednesday and did everything possible to lead the team to victory. Obviously, I am super proud of the team.”

Johns said the Saints had a memorable season.

“Not only am I proud of the team for the way they played in our last match, I am proud of the way the conducted themselves all season,” he said. “The girls trusted our coaching staff and the strategies we wanted them to implement. They also understood that Crean Lutheran volleyball is all about what each individual can do to help the team reach its goals.

“Finishing Empire co-league champs is just one example of this philosophy.”