Story by Ruby Foudy
Staff Writer
Photos by Zoe Chen
Staff Photographer
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, South Pasadena versed Sultana in the Quarter Final, winning 3-0. The Tigers played with spirit and strength, ensuring their victory and allowing them to advance to the Division VI Semi Final.
Although the Sultans scored the first point of the first set, South Pasadena gained the next two from Sultana’s slip-ups. The Sultans swept in and grabbed several more points, but a key player on their team was injured, which gave the Tigers an advantage. With kills from senior and junior opposite hitters Kayla Boozer and Senya Dorny, South Pasadena was soon able to bring the score to 6-6 and eventually exceeded Sultana. Everything went smoothly for the Tigers due to their strong attacks and the Sultans’ weak defense. However, near the end of the set, Sultana scored eight consecutive points, bringing the score from 19-10 to 19-18. After a back-and-forth, the score reached 24-22. South Pasadena won the set due to an out-of-bounds serve from the Sultans.
Sultana suffered from an energy loss in the second set, which caused the set to be much faster than the first. Once again, the Sultans gained the first point, but it was swiftly regained by a kill from Dorny. The Tigers quickly gained a lead, and the score advanced from 8-4 to 16-10 in only a few minutes. The majority of points won by the Sultans were on account of the Tigers’ mistakes, such as faulty serves. South Pasadena continued to rack up points with numerous kills from Dorny and sophomore outside hitter Bella Ventura; the Sultans only scored three more before the end of the set. Thanks to a save from sophomore defensive specialist Ella Garner, the Tigers won the second set 25-13.
The third and final set was more equally matched; Sultana put up more of a fight, and the players were more heavily focused on offense. Sophomore outside hitter Evan Taylor started the set strong with two aces. Sultana gained back the points and briefly surpassed South Pasadena 7-4. The Tigers eventually accumulated enough points to pass Sultana 13-12 and maintained their lead for the rest of the game. Although the Sultans gained an occasional point, they did not have a strong enough defense to protect against the Tigers’ attacks. South Pasadena brought the score to 24-19. A kill from Boozer won the game for South Pasadena, 3-0.
“I’m proud of us, I think we really worked well as a team today,” senior setter Jolene Wu said. “We’re excited to go to the Semi Finals.”
The win against Sultana qualified South Pasadena for the CIF Division VI Semi Final. The Tigers played Oak Hills on Saturday, Nov. 2 in the Semi Final game, and were swept 3-0. The loss concluded the Tigers’ 2024–25 season.
