Orange Panther players, coaches and school officials celebrate the CIF title. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Fans packed the Orange gymnasium Saturday night to watch the Panthers girls volleyball team make history.
Orange defeated La Quinta from La Quinta in three sets by scores of 25-20, 26-24, 25-17 to capture the CIF Division 10 girls volleyball championship, the first CIF title for the program.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
In fact, it was the first time Orange has been in the finals, officials said. In the third set, La Quinta jumped out to a 14-9 lead on a kill by Sarah Jeong.
But the Panthers finished strong. Abgail Rodriguez-Vian had an ace and Michelle Dominguez a kill in the third set.
The Panthers notched the final point, then the Orange fans roared as they congratulated the team.
“I’ve been at Orange since 2012, this is my first CIF run ever and to be here and win the championship with our first run is surreal,” said Coach Danielle Esparza. “This team is unassuming. It’s a motley crew. We don’t look like we’re as good as we are and I think that’s worked to our advantage.
“The heart and the grit these girls have shown is incredible. I’m honored to coach them and it’s been an unreal ride to get here and we’re ready to continue onto state. We make history, girls volleyball has never made it to a CIF final and we’ve never been champions so this is a huge, monumental accomplishment for us.”
A number of Orange players stood out Saturday and throughout the season.
“It’s a collective effort but Michelle Dominguez has been a huge player for us, she’s my outside hitter, our libero and captain Abigail, her defense is stellar and we’re led by our other captain Leila Lopez, who is our setter,” Esparza said. “But my whole starting lineup when we play together we win.”
Orange (19-16) led from the start in the first set although La Quinta closed the gap to 21-19 before the Panthers finished the set out.
The second set was tied 24-24 before Orange moved ahead 25-24, then won it on an ace by Dominguez.
Then came another victory and a massive post-game celebration.
“It’s been a very long season,” Lopez said. “But me and my teammates pushed all the way through and I couldn’t be more proud of them. The grit and the passion we all have for volleyball is wonderful to see and it shows on and off the court.
“Our team struggled a little bit in the beginning with us working together, but we’ve come a long way and we’ve become such a wonderful family together and we all have so much love for each other.”
The team had modest goals going into the season.
“My main goals was just a CIF berth for the first time and we finished third in or league and that got us an auto bid and here we are,” Esparza said.
The Panthers spent lots of time posing for pictures with family members and friends. It was a standing-room only crowd, which also included a fair amount of supporters from La Quinta.
“The pride that our fans have and the love we have for our city is astronomical and I think that’s helped us all the way through, the heart that our community has pushed our kids to where we are,” Esparza said.
“Everyone came to support us which was amazing and I love every single one of these people who were here tonight to support us,” Lopez added.
The Panthers will find out where they play in the CIF state tournament when pairings are announced Sunday. La Quinta (18-18) will also compete in the state tourney.
Orange roster
Leila Lopez, Paola Ortiz, Jayleen Gomez, Kim Nguyen, Ingrid Garza, Michelle Dominguez, Diana Vargas, Jaclyn Solis, Kelsey Vuong, Arriana Maritnez, Kandi Hernandez, Abigal Rodriguez-Vian, Jazmin Cuayahuitl and Carrera Evelyn.
Coach: Danielle Esparza. Assistant coach: Arturo Gomez-Pelanloza.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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