Uni defeats Woodbridge in five sets and remains in a tie for first place with Beckman in PCL

University players head to the bench after a victory in the third set (Photo Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone)

University’s girls volleyball team overcame an early four-point deficit in the fifth set to defeat Woodbridge and take a critical Pacific Coast League match Tuesday night at University, one of the program’s biggest wins.

The scores were 27-29, 25-18, 26-28, 25-18, 25-27, 15-10.

With the victory in front of its home fans, University moved into a tie for first place with Beckman, which is also 4-0. University plays at Beckman Thursday night.

“We’re 4-0, I don’t know the last time the school beat Woodbridge; that’s a nice win for us,” said Uni Coach Garry Currier.

It appears to be University’s first victory over Woodbridge in quite a while, although the length of the Warriors’ winning streak over the Trojans could not be confirmed.

University was led by senior Serena Choi, who had 29 assists, 15 digs, two aces and 12 kills; junior Tory Holmes, who had 20 kills, two blocks and seven digs; Lily Krongold, who had 13 kills and 10 digs and Lauren Cho who had 24 digs and four aces.

Freshmen Allison Rodriguez and Katrina Soto were also solid serving.

“Our senior leadership really kept everything in tact,” Currier said. “In our last tournament in San Diego, we played a lot of matches in one day and the girls really came together and we knew if we got down, we could fight and big players would step up.

“We have worked very hard this year and last year. I have changed the mentality of this program starting last year and the girls have bought into my idealism and practice/game plan.”

Woodbridge coach Alan Ho, who saw his team fall to 2-2 in league play, credited University.

“We didn’t do the best job of executing tonight,” he said. “Uni looked like they were playing with a lot of urgency and didn’t back down.”

Ho said he did not know the last time that University defeated Woodbridge in girls volleyball.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com