Story by Zoe Chen
Sports Editor
Photos by Florence Chun
Contributor
Girls’ volleyball vied for the State title against the Northern Region’s Hilmar Yellowjackets in the California Division IV State Final. The teams played on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Santiago Canyon College in Orange County, an hour away from South Pasadena and five from Hilmar.
South Pasadena spent the first two sets of the match treading carefully and establishing their ground. Come the third set, the Tigers took off and snatched the State title from the Yellowjackets.
South Pasdena kicked off the match with a serve from senior outside hitter Ava Conti. However, no clear leader emerged until halfway through the first set. South Pasadena’s reactions were slow, but Hilmar’s attacks were not great either. Hilmar’s blocks were better than South Pasadena’s, but the Yellowjackets were unprepared when Tiger attacks avoided their blockers.
Rallies lengthened as each team found the others’ weak spots. The game’s momentum did not build up behind either team, instead shifting constantly between both. Neither team managed a lead of more than two points; the Tigers and Yellowjackets tied frequently at 2-2, 4-4, 9-9, and 12-12.
A block by sophomore setter Evan Taylor put the Tigers up 16-15 and set off a chain reaction in South Pasadena’s favor. Hilmar’s coordination dropped drastically, as did their ability to receive and return the ball. Senior middle blockers Kayla Boozer and Olivia Slattery prevented Yellowjacket attacks on multiple occasions. Junior middle blocker Senya Dorny and Conti managed strong kills and gained South Pasadena the largest lead the game had seen, 22-19.
South Pasadena’s digs improved throughout the set, which was largely due to sophomore libero Ella Garner and sophomore outside hitter Bella Ventura. Hilmar, still erring every other rally, failed to dig a Tiger attack and brought South Pasadena’s lead to 24-20.
South Pasadena, one point away from winning the set and four points ahead of Hilmar, completely let down their defenses. Hilmar preyed on South Pasadena’s overconfidence. The Yellowjackets, against all odds, managed to capture the six consecutive points they needed to swipe the set from under the Tigers’ feet. After South Pasadena failed to block or dig three Hilmar attacks, the Yellowjackets took the first set 26-24.
The framework of the second set was an exact copy-and-paste duplicate of the first. Again, South Pasadena took a respectable lead midway through the set. Again, South Pasadena put themselves in prime position to win the set 24-21, and again, the Tigers blew the final rallies and allowed the Yellowjackets to snatch the set in a 26-24 deuce. Hilmar was dangerously close to sweeping the match; South Pasadena was down 2-0.
South Pasadena, on the verge of defeat, needed a dramatic comeback. The Tigers did exactly that.
While the Yellowjackets put up a good defense, the Tigers dominated the third set from the start. Back-to-back kills from Dorny, Taylor, and junior middle blocker Isabelle Mullican brought South Pasadena’s lead up to 4-1. South Pasadena’s defense, which relied heavily on Garner, wore down Hilmar. More strategically placed attacks from Dorny and Ventura worried the Yellowjackets, down 9-3, into an early timeout.
Despite Hilmar’s best attempts, South Pasadena had captured the energy and continued to command the court. The Tigers’ offense gained them their lead, and it was what kept them ahead. The Yellowjackets’ play gradually worsened.
Dorny and Taylor continued to gain points for South Pasadena with their consistent kills. An ace from Ventura — one of the match’s first — gave the Tigers a 10-point lead, 21-11.
South Pasadena, in a good position to take the set, was determined to finish the job and avoid the fate of the previous two sets. An outside attack from Conti brought the Tigers to 22-12. A dump from Taylor and a block from Boozer brought the Tigers one point away from the set point, 24-13. When a Hilmar attack went wide, South Pasadena took the third set 25-14 — a huge contrast from the two-point margins with which Hilmar had taken sets one and two.
The fourth set followed the same template as the third — South Pasadena managed an early lead and held on until the end. Freshman setter Kayla Yau relieved Taylor as setter in the fourth set, and Taylor, now playing opposite hitter, immediately launched a back-row attack that stunned the Yellowjackets. Hilmar was often too slow to react to South Pasadena attacks, thus giving the Tigers an upper hand.
Hilmar’s attacks, which had largely been in-bounds in prior sets, landed out multiple times. Garner expertly protected the Tigers’ back row with excellent judgment as to when attacks needed digging versus when they would land out. South Pasadena overall played smoother than they had in past sets and took a 15-11 lead. Hilmar repeatedly blocked the ball out-of-bounds.
The Yellowjackets became reckless, and their mistakes led to Tigers’ points. An ace from Taylor and multiple out-of-bounds Hilmar attacks gave South Pasadena a 22-15 lead. Dorny, assisted by Yau, launched a final middle attack on the Yellowjackets. The ball ricocheted off the Hilmar libero into the roaring crowd of onlookers. South Pasadena took the fourth set 24-16; the game would go into a fifth set.
Each team sprinted to 15 in the shorter fifth set that would decide the State Champions. South Pasadena quickly emerged as the superior team; the final rallies were a matter of whether the Tigers could hold onto their lead or not — if the fifth would go in the direction of the first and second sets, or the third and fourth.
South Pasadena’s attacks carried them through the set, and the majority of Hilmar’s points were gained through Tiger mistakes. When Hilmar did manage to save Tiger attacks, their digs were unstable and hard to set properly. Oftentimes, Hilmar resorted to backwards shots to return the ball to South Pasadena.
In contrast, South Pasadena covered all areas of their court and placed attacks strategically. Hilmar was charged twice with double-touch sets. South Pasadena led 12-6 after a powerful kill from Boozer.
Hilmar lost steam as their chances of winning the championship crumbled. The Yellowjackets hit the ball directly into the Tiger blockers. Boozer downed the ball straight onto a large pocket of Hilmar open court. The score ticked to 15-8 as the South Pasadena crowd erupted and Tiger players streamed onto the court. South Pasadena had won the State Championship.
South Pasadena’s team, composed primarily of underclassmen, is a stark contrast from last year’s team, which was led by five committed seniors. After losing these players to graduation, many expected this season to be a growth year. Instead, the team exceeded expectations, narrowly qualifying for Southern Section Division VI playoffs and then soaring through game after game. The Tigers’ outstanding playoff performance qualified them for Division IV State playoffs against teams from all over California. With the State Championship title over their heads, the Tigers have proved themselves to be a top team in California.
