Anzar swept at King City, sees nine-match win streak end
King City – In a showdown of Mission Trail Athletic League leaders Wednesday, the Anzar girls’ volleyball team found out that King City still sits atop the heap of the league. Despite entering the road contest bolstered by the momentum of their nine-match winning streak, the Hawks lost 25-15, 25-21, 25-10.
King City (16-7, 13-0 MTAL) clinched the league championship by sweeping Anzar for the second time this season.
“They kept us on our heels the whole time,” Hawks co-head coach Mike Dorney said. “There’s a reason they’re undefeated. … They’re a darn good team.”
Using its quickness, King City covered the floor well on defense and was able to hit away from Anzar’s tough middles, Christina Flores and Jessica Staley.
“They played a lot of downhill volleyball,” Dorney said. “They hit hard and they were tough to defend.”
Senior Emily Deleissegues led the Hawks with 11 kills, 21 digs and three blocks.
Anzar (16-5) retained sole possession of second place in the MTAL at 10-3 despite suffering its first loss since falling to King City on Sep. 20. Third-place Santa Catalina (8-4) had its bye Wednesday.
The Hawks still control their own destiny as far as the Central Coast Section playoffs are concerned. The top-two teams from the MTAL will garner automatic bids, so if Anzar returns to its winning ways in its final three matches, a Division V entry appears likely.
After winning the CCS Division V championship in 2002, the Hawks have lost their first playoff match in each of the past three years.
Even after the loss to King City, Dorney was optimistic about his team’s outlook for a strong end to the regular season and beyond. “We’re in a really good position,” he said. “If we put up another big win streak, that’s a CCS championship, so we’ve just got to let this one go and start again.”
The Hawks return to action by hosting Carmel at 6pm Monday, and then wrap up their regular season with matches against Pacific Grove and Robert Louis Stevenson.
