Saugus Falls a Game Short of Final : Girls’ volleyball: Centurions’ surprising season ends in semifinal loss.
The magical mystery tour finally came to an end for Saugus High on Thursday night in a 14-16, 5-15, 15-4, 15-6, 15-7 loss to South Torrance in a Southern Section Division III girls’ volleyball semifinal at Hart High.
The Centurions, traditionally a doormat in volleyball, had accomplished things undreamed of during the season. They earned their first ranking, first tournament title and first league championship. And they seemed on the verge of a trip to Saturday’s division final after taking a two-game lead over South Torrance.
But then the Spartans, upstarts of their own as unranked semifinalists, put their formidable attack in gear.
“There is a fine line between cocky and confident,†Saugus Coach Bobbi Estes said. “(Saugus) went over that line and never got it back.â€
The second-seeded Centurions (15-3) looked like destiny’s darlings in the first game, recovering from a 14-5 deficit behind a 10-point service run by Lindsay Estes, the coach’s daughter, and the hitting and blocking of Amy Gillis (16 kills overall).
After Saugus took a 15-14 lead, middle blocker Jennifer Luby gave her team the game with a kill off a quick set by Jodi Olsby.
Energized by that comeback, Saugus took the Spartans apart in the second game, taking a 7-1 advantage behind Gillis and Kezban Yagmur.
“After losing the second game, I was really concerned,†South Torrance Coach Guy Takashima said.
But then the Spartans (15-4) changed their emphasis from defense to offense. South Torrance, which struggled to get a decent pass to setter sophomore Allison Root for long periods of the first two games, played nearly mistake-free volleyball over the final three games. Leading the way were outside hitters Rachel Bosma (18 kills), Nicole Odem and Daidra Collier (11 kills each) and middle blocker Stephanie Pfau (15 kills).
Coach Estes was not in a mood for celebrating a season of accomplishments afterward.
“Right now, I see we could have won this thing,†she said. “I may be happy with our season next week, but not right now.â€
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