Cypress players and coaches celebrate after winning the CIF title. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
For the second time in school history, the Cypress High School girls volleyball team is CIF champion.
The Centurions (21-12) dominated from the opening serve as they cruised to a 3-0 victory (25-9, 25-15 and 25-15) over Foothill in the CIF-Division 3 finals Saturday at Cerritos College.
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Cypress last won a CIF volleyball title in 2007 when they defeated California High School. Foothill was attempting to win its first CIF title. The Knights reached the finals in 2017 but lost.
“Our team has worked so hard, and we have incredible support from our alums, school, and fans,” said coach Alex Griffiths, who is in her 10th year as the Cypress head coach. “We came out strong out of the gate in the first set and never let up; that’s an important part of our game. St. Margaret’s thought they had us beat but we battled back. We know it’s never over until it’s over.”
The Centurions started quickly in the first set and built a 7-1 lead and increased it to 14-5, behind the aggressive play of Isabella Faro, Leona Alexis, and Kendel Harris. In addition, the left-handed serving Hannah Schoffstall seemed to have caused confusion among the Knights players. Schoffstall served up three aces down the stretch as Cypress captured eight of the last nine points to win the first set 25-9.
“We started strong and built a good lead and kept pushing and that was the difference,” said Schoffstall. “Our front and back lines played really well and I’m so proud of this team.”
The Centurions’ passing, blocking, digging, net play, defense and serving was nearly perfect as they executed an effective attack. Cypress never let the Foothill offense get into a rhythm.
“The closeness among our team is our strength,” said Harris, who also served up three aces. “We have strong communication, and we all felt we were going to win.”
Foothill displayed its best attack of the match when Vanguard-commit Haley Langdon recorded a kill to give the Knights a 12-9 lead in set two. However, Faro, Harris and Alexis rallied the Centurions as they moved ahead 17-12, following an ace by Faro.
The Knights (27-11) countered with a few points, but Cypress then rattled off seven consecutive points, highlighted by Faro’s kill to bolster the Centurions’ lead to 24-14. Harris closed out the set with a thundering kill and Cypress took a 2-0 lead in the match.
In set three, the Cypress front line of Katrina Sokoloski, Miriam Gallegos, Alexis, and Faro continued to dominate. Sokolowski recorded consecutive blocks and kills to lift the Centurions to a14-4 lead. Foothill called several time outs in the match to regroup but Cypress’ momentum was unstoppable. Faro recorded the final kill to give the Centurions the set, match, and championship.
“Our hard work in practice all year made us get better at the little things,” said Faro, who also had six digs. “Our confidence continued to grow with each match this season.”
“We had the right mindset from the start, and we didn’t make many mistakes,” said Sokolowski, who had six of the Centurions 14 blocks.
Alexis and Faro each had nine kills, and Harris added eight kills for Cypress. Faro and Schoffstall combined to serve up 10 of the Centurions 16 aces and Zuriel Gallegos recorded 14 digs.
Following the match, the Cypress players and coaches accepted the CIF championship plaque and then celebrated with a large group of Centurions fans.
“It’s amazing to win a CIF title,” said Alexis. “We wanted to start fast and remain focused, and we did that. We served well and held their rallies to a minimum.”
Foothill never recorded more than three consecutive points in the match.
“We were full of energy from the first set,” said Masanja. “We’ve worked hard for this all year and some of us have been together for four years and the championship makes it extra special.”
Masanja’s teammate, Zuriel Gallegos, agreed.
“I can’t believe it that we are CIF champions; it’s amazing,” said Gallegos, who is considering playing at Hope University next season. “We executed every facet of the game, and we had confidence coming into the match.”
Foothill was led by June Stringham and Langdon who recorded nine and seven kills, respectively. Stringham also added seven digs.
“There is no shame in losing this match,” said Foothill first-year coach Aaron Wolfe. “I am so proud of these girls. We’re losing a lot of seniors this year, but we have a lot of talent coming back and we’re going to be all right.”
NOTES:
—Cypress’ coach Alex Griffiths won a California State Volleyball Title while playing for Los Alamitos High in 2007.
—Former Cypress coach (1998-2008) Heather Dillard played on the Cypress 2007 CIF championship volleyball team was in attendance and proudly donning her 2007 championship ring. Dillard played college volleyball at Utah State and University of Alabama at Birmingham.
—Foothill defeated Aliso Niguel, South Pasadena, CdM, and Flintridge Prep to reach the finals while the Centurions defeated Long Beach Poly, Long Beach Wilson, Millikan and St. Margaret’s to reach the finals.
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