Los Alamitos Reaches Final

Ashley Engle couldn’t do it alone. Rachael Moss didn’t have to.

Moss recorded 18 kills and top-seeded Los Alamitos had four other players with eight kills or more in a 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19 victory over second-seeded Anaheim Esperanza in a Southern California Regional Division I final Tuesday night at Los Alamitos.

The Griffins (32-3) offset a match-high 32 kills by Engle and stopped an 11-match winning streak by Esperanza with multiple offensive weapons. They face Brentwood Liberty for the state championship Saturday at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.

Los Alamitos won its eighth consecutive match and advanced to its second state title match -- the Griffins won the Division I state championship in 2003. The balanced attack included 15 kills by junior opposite hitter Bethany Keisner, 13 kills from junior outside hitter Geena Urango and eight apiece by senior opposite Alex Filkins and sophomore middle blocker Christine Douglas.

The constant pressure by Los Alamitos proved too much for the Aztecs (30-5), who put up a fight in each game, finally winning the third behind 13 kills by Engle.

Lauren Peterson

*

San Diego Parker d. L.A. Marymount, 26-24, 24-26, 25-19, 25-17 -- In a rematch of last season’s Division IV final, the visiting Lancers rallied from a seven-point deficit late in the first game and went on to defeat top-seeded Marymount.

Parker, which won the state title last season to end Marymount’s four-year reign, fell behind, 22-15, in the opening game, but USC-bound senior Allison Hillgren served eight consecutive winners to give the second-seeded Lancers a 23-22 lead.

Marymount (30-8) twice tied the score before Cassidy Lichtman ended the game with her eighth kill.

Marymount stayed close early in the third and fourth games, but sloppy play allowed the Lancers (31-4) to pull away.

-- Dan Arritt