Friday, October 25, 2013

The Regents Stumble, But They Don't Fall

CHINO HILLS, CA-  It's always difficult for the Regents to play in the Ayala gym.  Tonight was no exception.  The St. Lucy's Regents dropped their first set of league play against the Ayala Bulldogs, but held on for the four set victory 25-20, 25-15, 11-25 and 25-19.

Last year's Sierra League MVP Erin Clark got the Bulldog's off to a great start with two aces to begin set one.  Cheyenne Patin got into the mix with an ace of her own and Sam Bozoian crushed one across court to push the Bulldogs ahead 7-4.  The Regents came storming back with effective back court attacks from Roni LaPierre and Sydney Bast.  LaPierre's hit off the block knotted the score at 10.  Ayala called timeout trailing 10-12, only to see Brennen Miller answer with an ace to extend the lead to 14-10.  Clark interupted the Lucy's run with a cross court kill, but Natalie Caro put down an overpass and sent the Bulldog's to the yard to regroup trailing 11-18.  A refocused Ayala crew came back on court and trimmed the lead to 5.  Loryn Carter careened one off of the block to end the surge, 21-15.  Bast almost took out the referee and his stand trying to get away from the ricochet off of the block and Caro served up an ace to give the Regents set point 24-15.  Ayala capitalized on a couple Regent errors and blocked two Regent attempts to cut into the lead again, 24-20.  Juliet McClure pushed the set out to Carter on the right, who put the ball hard into the block and down for the win, 25-20 Regents.

St. Lucy's came out on fire in set two.  McClure's tough serving gave the regents an early 5-0 edge.  LaPierre dug a hard driven ball from Bozoian which Bast rolled into the corner to extend the lead 7-1.  The Regent's scrappy, hustling play earned them a 12-3 cushion before Bozoian was able to put one down in the deep left corner.  But then came the mistakes.  The Regents opened the door to the Bulldogs with shanked serve receive passes and service errors.  Not liking the way in which the game was trending, Coach Douglas called timeout at 13-9.  LaPierre responded and crushed an overpass for the 15-9 lead.  However, neither team played stellar volleyball down the stretch with both teams making repeated service errors.  Sarah Bruchet continued to hustle though, digging up sure winners with one arm stabs.  Franchessca D'Aquila's cross court kill got the Regents close to the finish line, 23-15; Bast's ace carried them across it.  Regents took set two 25-15.

Set three belonged to the Bulldogs.  The teams started out trading punches- LaPierre and Carter swinging with authority- Clark dumping one and Alexis Quezeda bouncing a serve off of Caro's foot.  But right after the 4-4 turn, the Regents got off track.  It started with a roof by Clark.  Ashley Elias then stepped up and served two aces.  Patin rolled a kill over the block and Douglas was gathering the girls around to try and figure out how they fell behind 5-12.  Elias continued with her too hot to handle service run and the Bulldogs were up 15-5 when Douglas used his second timeout.  Bast's back court attack finally stopped the Ayala run, but the Bulldogs had the momentum, the belief, oh, and the double digit lead.  They also had luck on their side as Clark's low serve hit the tape and fell in for an ace; 19-6, Bulldogs.  The Regents picked up a few points on Bulldog errors, and one on an ace by LaPierre, but this set was lost.  Bozoian's shot off of the Regent block was just a formality.  Ayala handed the Regents their first set loss in league play  25-11.

The Regents had not seen a set four in a while.  Caro got a quick kill out of the middle and LaPierre followed with an ace to get the Regents out front.  A Regent service error gave the Bulldogs the tie and the ball.  Carter tooled the block to regain the lead and Bast's well executed X gave the Regents a 4-2 lead.  The Bulldogs knotted the score at 4 by keeping apparently downed balls in play long enough to get the point.  The Regents pulled away at this point, poking balls to the corners, winning jousts at the net and digging great attacks to build a 16-6 lead.  Clark hammered an overpass to the 10 foot line to remind the Regents that Ayala would not go away quietly, and the lead was down to 7; 17-10.  The Bulldogs gnawed, scratched and clawed and cut the lead to three, 20-17, before the Regents called timeout.  The Regents got the side out on a lucky net call and Caro's ace made the score 22-17 Regents.  Quezeda rolled the next shot over the block to keep Ayala's hope alive.  Carter bounced one off of the Bulldog libero to dim that hope.  Clark got another dump down and the Bulldogs had the ball trailing 19-23.  LaPierre's shot into the deep corner gave the Regents the set point, and Rachael Cavanaugh finished the set and match with a quick tip of the overpass to the front corner.  It wasn't pretty, but the Regents took set four 25-19 and remain undefeated in league.

The stat leaders for the evening were Juliet McClure (27 assists, 2 aces), Loryn Carter (10 kills, 1 block), Natalie Caro (3 aces, 7 digs), Roni LaPierre (13 kills, 3 aces, 10 digs), Sarah Bruchet (15 digs) and Sydney Bast (13 kills, 1 ace and 11 digs.)


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Halloween Came Early for the Regents

Covina, CA--  Setters disguised as outside hitters, outside hitters playing the part of setter, and an occasional libero on the pin, that was the scene today as the Regents took on the Charter Oak Chargers.  Coach Douglas forewarned the team that they were going to be mixing up line ups and trying new things in this match, and he was true to his word.  All of the Regent players spent some time on the court as St. Lucy's swept Charter Oak 25-13, 25-15, 25-12, to stay perfect in league play.

Charter Oak got underway with a hopeful 4-0 lead.  The Regent regulars had a tough time focusing at first, dumping serves and hitting attempts into the net.  However, they erased the Charger lead by 7-7, and Sydney Bast served seven in a row to push the Regents ahead 12-7.  The Regents took control from there.  Kelsie Remige rotated in and got a quick kill, letting her presence be known.  Natalie Caro was tough at the service line, finishing the set with another hat trick of aces.  Set one went to the Regents 25-13.

Set two was a parade of St. Lucy players.  Jenna Bailey got to put in time on the right side, Brennen Miller served it up nicely for an ace, as did Alina Mota when she pushed the Regents ahead 12-4.  After establishing the lead, LaPierre took on setting duties and Juliet McClure became a pin hitter.  McClure got a kill on her first attempt, then LaPierre went right back to her, set juice, and McClure tooled the block to extend the lead to 17-5.  Caro slammed one down out of the middle and the Chargers had seen enough, calling time out trailing 9-19.  After the time out, it was Miller time, as the Freshman came in and served up her second ace of the set.  Charter Oak made a late five point push, but they had too much ground to cover for it to make a difference.  The Regents won set two 25-15.

Set three was a preview of years to come.  Despite Charter Oak's 3-0 start, the Regents were in control the entire way.  This set featured Julianna Rohrer as the libero and a combination of McClure, LaPierre and Bruchet setting.  Miller, Bailey, Franchessca D'Aquila, Loryn Carter, Rachael Cavanaugh and McClure foreshadowed what the team might look like next year and impressively demonstrated that they are ready to take over when the time comes.  Bruchet took advantage of her opportunity to play outside hitter and put down several kills, her trademark roll shot hitting the ground to put the Regents up 13-7.  Rohrer's ace serve made it a 16-8 advantage, and D'Aquila's cross court kill with authority made it 22-10 Regents.  In the end, the Chargers could not keep pace with any combination of St. Lucy players.  Final score, Regents 25, Chargers 12.

The stat leaders for the day were many.  Juliet McClure (3 aces, 33 assists, 2 kills), Brennen Miller (3 aces, 4 digs), Franchessca D'Aquila (6 kills). Loryn Carter (8 kills), Natalie Caro (3 aces, 4 kills), Roni LaPierre (10 kills, 5 assists, 1 ace, 1 block), Sarah Bruchet (6 digs, 3 kills), Sydney Bast (3 aces, 5 digs, 3 kills) and Jenna Bailey (3 kills, 4 digs).

Friday, October 18, 2013

The Regents Stand Alone at the Top of the Sierra League

GLENDORA, CA-  The Regents put on the pink tonight and charged to the top of the league in a straight sets victory over previously undefeated in league Chino Hills.  This was St. Lucy's Dig Pink Rally match; a match dedicated to raising awareness of breast cancer and raising funds for SideOut Foundation.  The evening was full of color, spectacle, singing, raffles, and above all, great volleyball.  The Regents were lucky to get away with the sweep, as the first two sets were highly competitive and could have gone either way.

The volleyball that was being played on both sides of the net in set one was better than any we have seen in a while.  Chino Hills put the Regents on notice early that they would be fighting like girls to win every point with a strong block that effectively rejected the Regent hitting attempts.  Loryn Carter started finding the floor with well timed tip shots and Sydney Bast just plain went off, hitting the seams, tooling the much bigger block and finding a way to score for St. Lucy's.  The teams stayed within a point of each other from 14 through 21.  The Huskies took the late lead, 22-21, and had control of the serve when the Regents took to the sideline to chat.  After the time out, Bast crushed one down the line to knot it at 22.  Bast stepped up to serve a side out later with the teams tied at 23.  Can you say ACE?  Syd can, and did.  Roni LaPierre put the next one down with a nifty roll shot off of the block and the Regents secured the come from behind victory 25-23.

Set two started out all Husky.  They jumped out to a 7-4 lead, which was capped off by an ace by libero Darby Minton.  The Regents struggled to find their equilibrium as they watched the Husky lead grow to 11-5.  Coach Douglas' time out could not have come at a better time and did the team a world of good.  They started to chip away at the Chino Hills lead with good patient defense and solo blocks from Juliet McClure and Rachael Cavanaugh.  The Regents got to within one point, 12-13, when Chino Hills made another run.  The Husky 16-12 lead had the Regents taking a second time out.  Kudos to Coach Douglas again, as the Regents came out of the time out and caught up to the Huskies with a nice service run by LaPierre.  LaPierre's ace to go ahead 17-16 was the first lead that the Regents enjoyed since the first points of the set.  It was a tug-of-war from there:  Chino Hills got up two, 20-18.  The Regents came back and tied it at 20.  And so it went until the Regents were sitting on a 23-22 lead with the serve.  Bast served an ace to get the Regents to set point, then she served another ace to finish the set.  (Told you she could say "ACE".)  The Regents won set two 25-22.

Set three started off with scramble play won by the Huskies.  Natalie Caro got the Regents on the board with a tip shot and LaPierre's big kill gave the Regents the first lead at 3-2.  The Huskies seemed a little discombobulated and got called out of rotation to give the Regents a 5-3 lead.  Alexis Cardoza got a big kill to put the Huskies back on track.  LaPierre slowed Chino Hills down a bit with successive back row kills.  The Huskies stayed close with the slide and strong outside hitting and tied it up at 8.  Bast bounced the next shot off of a Husky player to spark a Regent run.  Caro got into the action with a kill, as did Brennen Miller, who came in as a serving specialist and scored an ace.  LaPierre's solo block  gave the Regents the 13-9 edge and had Chino Hills calling time out.  The Regents were not backing down.  Carter came back with a tool of the block and an empty court kill; Caro made a HUGE dig that resulted in a Bast kill, and then served up a hat trick of aces (3 in a row.)  Despite a great down the line kill by Erica Gumz, another strong kill by Cardoza and a beautiful slide attack by Janessa Thropay, the Huskies could not break the Regents.  Bast had to wait for the Huskies to finish their parade of subs before serving the match point.  It did not matter who was on the other side of the net though, as Bast closed out the match with yet another ace.  Regents win 25-15.

The Regents have sole possession of the league lead as they go into the second half of the season as the only undefeated team.  Tonight's stat leaders were Sydney Bast (4 aces, 17 kills, 10 digs), Roni LaPierre (13 kills, 13 digs, 1 ace), Loryn Carter (8 kills, 1 block, 3 digs) Natalie Caro (3 kills, 7 digs, 3 aces), Sarah Bruchet (11 digs) and Juliet McClure (35 assists, 6 digs, 1 block.)



Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Hills/Huskies Round One goes to the Regents

COVINA, CA- It's the week of the Hills and the Huskies for the Regents as they took on the South Hills Huskies today, and will face the Chino Hills Huskies on Thursday.  They took care of business today, winning in straight sets 25-11. 25-22, 25-15, but their performance was far from flawless.  It's going to take a lot more to get past Hills Huskies II.

Set one was a bit lackluster on St. Lucy's part, with the Regents trading points to a 9 point tie.  Then they flipped the switch.  Juliet McClure dumped one, then Roni LaPierre crushed an overpass, then Natalie Caro put a quick middle set down, then LaPierre rolled a nifty left hander, followed by a cute tip to the corner by Caro.  Just like that, the lead was 14-9 and South Hills was talking things over at the bench.  St. Lucy's took the Huskies to school for the rest of the set, outscoring them 11-2 down the stretch.  25-11 Regents.

If set one was lackluster, there are no words for set two.  The Regents jumped out to a 6-0 lead; then went away.  The Huskies chipped away until they took the lead 9-7.  St. Lucy's time out talk did not improve their lot.  They continued to watch balls drop in for aces, double hit free balls, and hit into the block.  But, they still managed to flip the switch when they had to- knotting the score at 19 on a McClure dump.  They finally finished the set 25-22.

Volleyball is a simple game:  serve tough, get the other team out of system, pass, set and kill.  Set three had streaks of solid Regent volleyball in the most simple form.  The Regents found themselves up 7-2 on strong serves and even stronger right side finishes by Loryn Carter.  Despite a lull in the middle of set, St. Lucy's maintained a greater than five point lead throughout.  Julianna Rohrer contributed to the finish with a strong 5 serve run, including an ace, and newcomer Franchessca D'Aquila put a kill in the books.  Set 3 went to the Regents 25-15.

Stat leaders for the evening were Roni LaPierre (15 kills, 12 digs, 3 aces), Sydney Bast (13 kills, 12 digs), Loryn Carter (11 kills), Sarah Bruchet (11 digs) and Juliet McClure (35 assists, 12 digs, 3 aces.)  Join the Regents on Thursday, October 17th as they battle Chino Hills Huskies in their annual Dig Pink Rally match.  Festivities start at 3:30, and don't forget to wear your pink!

Friday, October 11, 2013

The Regents Roar Past Claremont in Straight Sets

GLENDORA, CA-  St. Lucy's made quick work of dismissing the Wolfpack, taking Claremont down in three quick sets, 25-18, 25-17, and 25-19.  The Regents remain undefeated in league.

Set one was a birthday celebration for Loryn Carter, literally, as the big-time hitter who turns 15 this week scored and blocked the ball effectively.  (Yes, she's only 15!)  Carter got the Regents started with three early kills as St. Lucy's shot out to a 7-4 lead.  The Wolfpack, led by middle hitter Janie Feldsher, dug in and and fought to a 7-7 tie on a slide kill by Feldsher and their first lead of the set when she smashed an overpass to go up 8-7.  The Regents turned it back around with defensive help from freshie Julianna Rohrer and a nice serving run by freshie Brennen Miller and found themselves sitting on a 18-14 lead when Claremont called time out.  Four points later, the Wolves took a second time out and finally put a stop to Juliet McClure's six point service run.  The Regents did not let go of the lead and Roni LaPierre's kill from the back row cemented the set for the Regents, 25-18.

It looked as if the Wolfpack was going to control the second set when they got out to a quick 4-0 lead; a lead that they would maintain until Sydney Bast got on a hot service run and tied the match at 9.  McClure's net assisted ace helped the Regents to move ahead of the Pack and out to a 15-12 lead.  Claremont battled hard and at a crucial point, trailing 17-14, despite several impossible digs by the Gina Valvo and both teams' back rows, Bast smartly tipped it off of the block to end the threat.  Carter put up two consecutive solo blocks and the set was essentially over.  Miller's ace was the last straw and the Wolves surrendered on a hitting error 25-17.

The Regents seemed to lose their focus at times in the third set.  Serving and hitting errors  by the Regents kept the Wolfpack in the hunt.  Sarah Bruchet's inability to dodge Feldsher's serve knotted the score at 12.  The teams traded points and the set was tied at 13, 14, and 15.  Rachael Cavanaugh ran a slide, put a shot down the line. and gave the Regents the 16-15 lead.  Bast followed with back to back aces to create a little breathing room.  The Regents seemed to finally find their focus and finished strong when Carter rolled a winner off of a LaPierre dig and hammered the next ball to go up 24-19.  The match ended on a Claremont hitting error.

The stats for the evening are incomplete due to a technology blip and we'd be speculating were we to list stat leaders, so we won't.  The Regents hit the road Tuesday, October 15th, when they will face the South Hills Huskies.  On Thursday, October 17th, they are home hosting their Dig Pink Rally match against currently undefeated in league foe Chino Hills High School.



Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The Regents Tame the Bulldogs

GLENDORA, CA-  The St. Lucy Regents battled the Ayala Bulldogs and came away from this dog fight with nary a scratch.  It was a straight set victory for the Regents:  25-11, 25-12, 25-21.

Set one was a demonstration of tough serving and excellent ball control by the Regents.  Juliet McClure got the Regents started off with several of her eight aces on the night.  The Regents were up 8-0 on McClure's serve.  The Bulldogs finally got on the board when Sam Bozoian made the Regents pay for an overpass with a crushing kill.  The Bulldogs were not able to overcome the early deficit and make a game of it.  Rachel Cavanaugh put the final point down hard out of the middle to close out the set 25-11.

The Regents jumped out to an early lead again in set 2 with tenacious defense and an ability to make something out of nothing.  Even with confusion, miscommunication and out of system play, the Regents finished the points to their advantage.  The Regents were up 9-2 before Ayala began to put up a fight.  Unfortunately for Ayala, they found their fight a little too late.  The Regents maintained a seven or more point advantage throughout and ended the set on a Natalie Caro ace for the 25-12 finish.  

A different Ayala team showed up for set 3.  This team stayed within three points of the Regents in the early going.  When it appeared that the Regents were going to take off and had extended their lead to 5, 16-11, Ayala took a time out.  After the time out, the Bulldogs battled back to within 2 points, trailing 17-19 after a Regent serving error.  Roni LaPierre tooled the block to get the side out and McClure served back-to-back aces to return the lead to five.  Ayala was not going to go down without a fight.  Outside hitter Cheyenne sent a cross-court shot down to cut the lead to 4, 18-22.  LaPierre responded with a nice touch shot between the block, 23-18.   The Bulldogs came back with a sweet miss-hit that went down to chip further into the lead 19-23.  Bozoian crushed the Regent overpass to pull within 3, 20-23. After a St. Lucy timeout, Ayala put their serve into the net and gave the Regents the first match point, 24-20.  Ayala still had some fight in them as Erin Clark put up a perfect set that Bozoian knocked down cross court to deny the Regents the match.  Serving to stay in the match, Ayala sent the ball into the net, ending the match in the Regents favor 25-21.

The St. Lucy stat leaders for the evening were Juliet McClure (8 aces, 30 assists, 8 digs), Loryn Carter (2 blocks, 11 kills), Natalie Caro (3 aces, 6 digs), Roni LaPierre (15 kills, 8 digs) and Sydney Bast (2 aces, 2 blocks, 8 kills and 13 digs.)   The Regents stay undefeated in league and take on Claremont on Thursday.

Friday, October 4, 2013

The Regents Coast To Victory In Season Opener

GLENDORA-  St. Lucy's opened season play today at home against Charter Oak.  To say that the match was no contest is an overstatement.  Regardless of what combination of players Coach Douglas put on the court, the Chargers had no answer.  The match went to the Regents in straight sets, 25-4, 25-8, 25-16.

The Regents played the first set without powerhouse sophomore Loryn Carter.  Jenna Bailey held her own on the right side.  Freshie Julianna Rohrer also got to put in some good back row work.  St. Lucy's gave up only four points before closing out the set.

Set two saw even more new faces with both outside hitters Sydney Bast and Roni LaPierre on the sideline.  Francesca D'Aquila and Bailey filled in nicely on the pins as did Brennen Miller as a DS.  Alina Mota made an appearance half way through the set and made her presence immediately felt with a one-armed dig to save a certain ace.  St. Lucy's finished off set two easily, this time giving up twice as many points, 25-8.

Douglas ran a 6-2 in set three, giving libero Sarah Bruchet some touches at the setter position and Rohrer the opportunity to play libero.  The Regents substituted liberally and nearly every player saw time in this match.  (Kelsie Remige did not get to play today because of a rolled ankle.)  Miller, who might be 5'4" with her shoes on, even played a couple front row rotations when the official prohibited D'Aquila and her from making a last minute substitution.  Charter Oak got to within 3 points of the Regents, 19-16, but they would get no closer.  D'Aquila subbed in, squashed the "threat" with a cross court kill, then stepped back and served the rest of the match out.  Even though Charter Oak once again doubled their points, they fell to the Regents 25-16.

The Regent scoring was spread out:  Mota had 2 aces, D'Aquila had 4 kills and 1 ace, McClure had 3 aces and 28 assists, Carter had 1 block and 8 kills, Caro had 7 kills and 3 aces, Bast had 7 kills, Bruchet had 3 kills, 5 digs and 1 ace, LaPierre had 2 kills and 2 digs, and Bailey had 2 kills and 2 digs.

Best of luck to all the girls who will be trying out for club teams this weekend.  The Regents are back at it next week with games against Ayala and Claremont.