TVT players, coaches and AD Jeff Towning (far left) celebrate the victory and hold the championship plaque and patches. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Tarbut V’ Torah’s girls volleyball team kept getting better as the season progressed, showing steady improvement at just the right time.
Thursday evening, the Lions took their play to another level capturing a three-set victory over Arroyo in the CIF Division 11 final in front of a standing-room-only crowd in the TVT gym in Irvine.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
It’s the second CIF championship for the program and the first since 2021 when TVT won the Division 9 crown under Coach Matt Hamadani.
The scores were 25-18, 25-15 and 25-16. The Lions had to rally from an early deficit in the third set to finish out the match, much to the delight of hundreds of enthuastic and vocal Lions fans.
“It’s a young team overall,” Hamadani said. “We knew as long as we’re playing our best ball once it gets to October or November that’s what we want to do. It was awesome to see the growth and just the confidence build as the season went on and I’m honestly really excited to move on to state and really test these girls.”
Arroyo was competing in the CIF finals in girls volleyball for the first time.
Tarbut V’ Torah was strong in all areas, including serving, digging and blocking.
“There were a couple times they kind of pushed us, but every time we handled it really well,” said Hamadani. “We have some really strong seniors. We started the year with three or four losses and it just felt like we were just kind of lacking that leadership, and then, with the way they were picking each other up, honestly, it inspired me, it was great.
“It means a lot, I remember coming here, I knew they had the talent and there were girls who really wanted it, but the infrastructure wasn’t quite there. I knew if you had a couple girls who really want it, they can rally a school and inspire even the next generation. I remember the first year we won it, the next year there were like 50 girls to sign up to play middle school volleyball.
“That’s why you do it, to grow the game, you’re seeing it now and you’re seeing it pay off and I hope that it continues.”
In the first set, the Lions were led by Raquel Vainberg, who had some big kills and Dylan Norton and Rochelle Chen who had aces to help the team jump to a 16-7 lead.
Arroyo cut the lead to five before Chen notched the game-winning point.
In the second set, Arroyo jumped out to a 4-0 lead but Vainberg got the Lions going with a kill and later in the set Ariella Yutkin recorded three straight aces to put the Lions ahead 21-14. TVT (7-7) wound up winning the set comfortably.
In the third set, Arroyo took a 6-5 lead before TVT rallied. Vainberg, Claire Brown and Yutkin all had points for the Lions.
Fans poured out onto the court to celebrate.
“I’m so happy and beyond grateful,” said Vainberg, a sophomore. “This is such an amazing season and we really worked hard for it. The crowd was amazing, it helped me. Everyone really worked hard for it. Everyone put a lot of effort and showed up to practice.”
Besides the play of Vainberg, Yutkin and Brown Hamadani said other players stepped up.
“Nava Gless, a freshman, I’ve never seen her play like that, she was putting the ball away the whole game, my setter Jadyn Levy was kind of in and out of the lineup all season, she’s a multi-sport athlete, we were down 0-2 in the second round on the road and I had to make a change, I put her in there and we just never looked back,” he said.
“We would not have made it past the second round of it wasn’t for her.”
And it helped having a lot of fan support too.
“We really pride ourselves on defending the den and winning games at home, it’s just awesome for the school, it’s a great school event for everybody to enjoy it,” the coach said. “We’re excited to move on to state and see how far we can take it.”
TVT ROSTER
Claire Brown, Nava Gless, Rochelle Chen, Dylan Norton, Ariella Yutkin, Jadyn Levy, Miz Martinez, Raquel Vainberg, Sarah Liao and Elyse Berg.
Coach: Matt Hamadani. Assistants: Chuck Cheatham, Derek Tran and Holly Kizler.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
More Stories
CIF girls volleyball finals schedule for OC teams Thursday, Friday and Saturday
After strong start, top-seeded Portola falls to Vista Murrieta in CIF semifinal match
Portola captures victory in CIF quarterfinals, reaches semifinal round for first time