Eagles are grounded before the summit

Estancia girls’ volleyball team falls short against Ocean View, just two points away from victory in key league match.COSTA MESA -- The Eagles made it close, but could not get over the top.

Estancia High’s girls’ volleyball team lost to Golden West League-leading Ocean View, 25-15, 21-25, 25-7, 25-18, 15-13, at a raucous Estancia High gym. A win would have given the Eagles a chance to split the league title.

With the victory Ocean View (10-4, 8-0 in league) appears likely to win the Pacific Coast League. Estancia’s only league blemishes in league came courtesy of Ocean View.

Just two points away from victory at 13-10, Estancia (13-5, 7-2) allowed the Seahawks five straight points for the loss. A net violation, a kill by the Seahawks’ Erica Congelliere, and two double-contact violations on the Eagles made the score 14-13.

On the final point of the match, miscommunication players in the backcourt allowed the ball to hit the floor for the winning points.

“We wanted this match so bad. Our girls played their hardest,” said junior middle blocker Jaye Hellmich.

It was a microcosm of an up-and-down match for Estancia.

In the first game, Estancia played Ocean View close, but lost nine of the last 12 points.

In the second game, Estancia allowed seven consecutive points before rallying. Down 17-12, the Eagles went on a big run, outscoring Ocean View 13-4 for the victory.

Estancia setter Stacie Wilson made two game-changing plays in that third game. With the Seahawks leading, 17-16, Wilson dove out of bounds to her right for an errant pass, her save sending the ball over the net. Ocean View returned the ball back over, and Wilson finished the point with a kill.

Estancia sleepwalked through a third-game loss. Ocean View’s Christina Kuehn racked up five service aces during a 15-point scoring streak.

The Eagles brought the home crowd back to life in the fourth set, going on a 10-1 streak to take a 15-3 lead.

With Hellmich serving, the crowd began chanting, “Jaye, Jaye, Jaye,” before each serve. The junior responded by serving four of her seven service aces during the game.

“It was the coolest thing ever to have the crowd so into the match,” Hellmich said.

Hellmich helped finish off the fourth game, scoring the final two points on a kill, and a game--ending service ace.

Hellmich had a monster game for Estancia. The middle blocker had 10 kills, three blocks and seven service aces.

She was able even to find an immediate silver lining in the close loss.

“A match like this definitely help prepare us for CIF [playoffs],” said Hellmich. 20051027ip08v6knCOURTENAY NEARBURG / DAILY PILOT(LA)Annie Tomasek spikes the ball in the second game of Estancia’s Golden West League match against Ocean View.