Bishop Diego and Long Beach Poly went on huge momentum swings, made clutch plays, served tough and left everything on the court in the CIF-SS Division 3 girls volleyball title match on Saturday at a raucous Cerritos College Gym.
When the ride reached the end after five exhausting sets, it was Long Beach Poly that finished on top, outlasting the Cardinals in an exhilarating final, 25-27, 25-22, 16-25, 25-14, 15-12.
The Jackrabbits broke a 9-9 tie on a Taimane Poe kill off the block and capitalized on a couple of errors to expand their lead to 14-11. Bishop star Eliana Urzua hit down the line to make it 14-12 and the Cardinals set themselves up for another point after a Natalie Chan dig of a blast from Cedra Saolotoga-Talaga. But there was a miscommunication on the second ball and it fell to the floor, ending an epic battle that last 2 hours, 24 minutes.
Bishop Diego coach Dillan Bennett praised his team for going toe-to-toe with a strong Long Beach Poly team that also won its semifinal match in five sets.
"You can't be more proud of this group, right? "he said. "Everybody comes to the CIF championship and wants to win, but only one team gets to walk away with a victory. And, to get in this position with this group of kids is a testament to how hard they've worked and do what they've been working hard for all year. It's a bitter pill to swallow."
While they came up short for a sixth CIF-SS championship in program history and second in four years, Bennett reminded his players that their season is not over. They'll be playing in the CIF State Championships and will learn their draw in Sunday.
Bishop senior outside Nicole Schuetz played one the best matches of her high school career, blasting 19 kills on a .292 hitting percentage, picking up 10 digs, two blocks and serving two aces.
"She played amazing," said Eliana Urzua, who followed with a double-double of 17 kills and 19 digs, with three blocks (two solo) and four aces. "She played great tonight. Her passing was on, her hitting was on and, of course, her blocking is a big key for her."
Freshman setter Karina Urzua dished out 38 assists picked up 14 digs and served four aces.
Long Beach Poly, which won its first volleyball title since taking the Division 1AA crown in 2010, had three players reach double figures in kills. Saolotoga-Talaga led the team with 14 and had 15 digs, while outsides Poe and Aleeya Salima each collected 10 kills. Salima also picked up 15 digs. Middle Kristen Dear added nine kills on a .571 average and setter Hannah Ballungay had 14 digs and dished out 22 assists.
The Jackrabbits out-blocked Bishop 14-10, led by Dear with four and middle Layla Moore with three. Middle Vivi Klentner had four total blocks and Eliana Urzua and middle Sophie Otte each had three to lead the Cardinals.
Eliana Urzua, who started as a freshman on the Cardinals' 2021 CIF- Division 7 title team, said win or lose, it was big achievement for Bishop Diego to play a big school like Long Beach Poly for a Division 3 crown.
"If we won, we would have had a banner (in the gym), that's the only difference. We still got a plaque. We would have loved the gold plaque but we still have one. Poly is a great team. They're very athletic and we just came a little short... three points."
The Jackrabbits focused on containing Urzua and succeeded in the early going. Their tall, quick middles slid over to block her attacks from the left side. She scored on a couple of roll shots before finally blasting one over the block during a rally from an 14-8 deficit.
The Cardinals tied the score at 15 and took an 18-16 lead, but Poly kept fighting and pulled even at 23-23 on a weird play. Libero Sydney Mercado served the ball to the back line and it appeared to land out of bounds and strike a Bishop back-row player on a short hop. The referee ruled the ball touched the player first, giving the Jackrabbits the tying point.
A block by Dear put Poly ahead, 24-23, but Bishop tied the score on a hitting error. The teams traded points before and the Cardinals scored the last two points on a hitting error and a back-row kill by Urzua.
In the second set, Sophie Otte pulled the Cardinals within one (22-23) with a thundering block. But Poly responded with a pair of spectacular plays to win the set. First, Moore connected on quick set from Hannah Ballangay for a side out. On the next play, Mercado laid out to scoop up a tip by Schuetz and the ball was set to Dear for the putaway to even the match at one set apiece.
The Cardinals regrouped in the third set. After Mercado served three straight aces during a four-point run to rally Poly from a 14-11 deficit, Karina Urzua served an ace to break a 15-15 tie. Later, Eliana Urzua serves three straight aces to finish the set. Bishop outscored Poly 9-1 down the stretch.
The fourth set belonged to Poly. The Jackrabbits got their middles going and roared to a 13-6 lead. Bishop got as close as four before Poly pulled away, setting up a dramatic fifth set.
"I always say, 'Fifth set we need to start off really strong, because it's only to 15.' So, that was our main focus," said Eliana Urzua. "We did a pretty good job of that. We went up by two (6-4) and we kind of lost it with our serve receive."
While the team came up short, Eliana Urzua said she's keeping her head high and looking forward to the state tournament.
"We can still get a banner," she said. "I'm proud of how we played tonight and I'm very proud of each of the girls on and off the court. Everybody played amazing."