There was a total of five local girls’ prep volleyball teams, from inside the Valley News coverage area, which made it to the quarterfinal round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs Wednesday, Oct. 25. Only four would be able to advance to the semifinals though, if they played their cards right, which they did. Unfortunately, one team would have no choice but to go home since it was another local team that they would be pitted against. That match would come down to a Division Eight matchup between Temecula Prep and California Lutheran, on the home court of the C-Hawks.
Top-seeded Temecula Prep would win this battle of the locals behind Abby Pekrul (18 kills, 3 Aces), who helped the Patriots win 25-19, 25-13, 25-21. Allison Schroeder was the highlight on the other side as she led Cal Lutheran with 11 kills. As they prepare for the semifinal round this Saturday, Oct. 28, Temecula Prep will again be matched up against a local foe, this time it will be the Liberty Bison.
Liberty, who came into the postseason unseeded, won their quarterfinal matchup in a five-set thriller over Lighthouse Christian Academy. Dakota Jove led Liberty with 17 digs, Kierstynn Vogt drilled home 13 kills, and Kailee Tracy had four aces on the night. With eight seniors from their school’s first-ever graduating class in tow, Liberty will make the short trip to Temecula for their semifinal bout.
The two other local teams that won hail from Temecula as well. Rancho Christian swept Diamond Bar (21-9) to advance in the CIF-SS Division Five brackets. Savannah Thomas, who is not letting a recent ankle injury stand in her way, led the Eagles with 13 kills, sophomore middle blocker Suzy Kemle nailed down 9 kills, sophomore Sophia Duguid had 7, and Duguid’s sister, Mackenzie, a freshman, followed right behind with 6 kills. The Eagles will be home again as they prepare to face Culver City (19-12) in the section semifinals.
Linfield Christian, the No. 3 seed, rounds out the list of area winners after the Lions won their Division Six home playoff match against Tarbut V’ Torah (Irvine) by a score of 3-0. Linfield Christian is no stranger to winning in Division Six as they were champions in 2019. Kat Pierce, who is finishing out the season as interim head coach after a mid-season coaching change, has her team firing on all cylinders with Glendale High School set on their GPS for this Saturday night.
If there are any changes to times, dates or sites please email sports@reedermedia.com with updated information. All matches are scheduled for 6 P.M. start times unless otherwise noted. The tournaments will conclude with the championships being played at Cerritos College as well as designated home team sites for lower divisions. Determination of sites will be determined after the semi-final round is completed Saturday, Oct. 28.
CIF STATE REGIONALS: November 7 – 14, CIF STATE FINALS: November 17 – 18.
*All schedules/scores supplied by CIF-SS.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
