Edison edges Lakewood
It was obvious throughout Tuesday’s CIF Southern California Regional Division I semifinal between Lakewood High and Edison that both teams deserved to be playing for a berth in the Regional final.
The back rows of both teams dug out wicked kill attempts from their opponents and both teams battled at the net during virtually every volley.
So, it was no surprise that the match took five sets to decide and that the Chargers’ seniors took charge when it mattered most.
Edison rebounded from a poor showing in the fourth set to take the fifth and come away with a 25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 14-25, 15-11 victory.
The victory sets up a regional finals showdown between No. 2 Edison and No. 1 Huntington Beach at 7 p.m. Saturday at Huntington Beach High School.
The Oilers defeated Ventura in four sets on Tuesday.
The Sunset League and crosstown rivals split their two matches during the season with each team winning on the opponents’ court.
“It’s going to be insane,” Edison’s Hannah Phair said of Saturday’s regional final. “It’s going to be a fun game to watch.”
Phair, who has committed to play sand volleyball at UCLA, led the Chargers with 20 kills.
Senior Cassidy Dennison and junior Taylor Gray each added 15 kills.
Senior Dani Dennison had 28 digs and junior Lyndsay Sparks finished with 56 assists and 17 digs.
The Chargers, who had not lost a set in their two previous matches, easily won the first set and were ahead 7-3 in the second.
Lakewood fought back and outscored the Chargers 9-2 down the stretch to take the second set.
The Chargers set up Phair as often as possible to win the third.
But the Lancers jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the fourth, catching the Chargers off guard by mixing up hard kills with soft tips and dunks, and then closed out the set on an 8-3 to set up the final set.
The score was tied 9-9 before Edison went on a 6-2 run to close out the set and the match.
“We didn’t have a great fourth game but we just stepped up and made some plays [in the fifth],” Edison Coach Matt Skolnick said.
Since losing to Mira Costa in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal, the Chargers have won three consecutive matches.
“We’ve been playing for almost six months and we do not want to go home with at least a little bit of jewelry,” Phair said.
Senior Destynie Viliamu led the Lancers with 25 kills and 19 digs.