Anzar High pushed No. 1 seed Woodside Priory to the brink Thursday in its second-round Central Coast Section Division V playoff match, but the Hawks’ season ended after falling in five sets.
The Hawks entered the match after a dominating performance in the first round by its two seniors Sydnee Masuen and Alex Flores, but Thursday the pair wasn’t enough to slow down the 25-5 Panthers.
Anzar fell behind in the first set and lost 25-22, but afterward the Hawks began to fight back in the tight playoff match.
The Hawks ran away with the second set 25-20, using long serving streaks, head coach Chris Wardlaw said.
“We were just able to take control for a bit,” he said. “We would go on this long streak then they would. Nobody could put each other away.”
But in the match, both of Anzar’s senior struggled to find consistency, Wardlaw said.
“They didn’t play the best they could,” he said. “Everyone was nervous. If one of the teams played to their ability it would have been a sweep.”
But nobody did.
In the third set, Woodside Priory opened up to a 17-9 lead. With momentum on Woodside Priory’s side, Anzar went on the attack.
Using the strong serving of Emily Papenhausen and Delanie McKinney, the Hawks stormed back in the third set. Lindsey Staley also played well in front of the net, blocking seven kill attempts from Woodside Priory.
“Lindsey and Emily really played great,” Wardlaw said.
Papenhausen ended the match with one ace and four digs, but she sustained the longest serving streaks of the match to end the third set. McKinney contributed five kills and five aces in the loss.
In the third set, it looked like Anzar gained all the momentum. Trailing 17-9, Anzar grabbed 17 of the next 25 points to steal the game away from Woodside.
“The girls never gave up and just rallied back,” Wardlaw said.
The momentum would end there for Anzar. With the struggles of Flores and Masuen, Anzar couldn’t pull out another set win, and dropped the final two sets by scores of 25-22 and 15-13.
“There was a lot of nerves out there and neither team played their best,” Wardlaw said.
Flores finished her final match at Anzar with 28 kills, two blocks, two aces and 21 digs. Setter Masuen – also in her final high school match – finished with a match-high 35 assists and three aces.
Anzar finished its season with a 20-10 overall record.
Woodside dropped the Division V championship match Saturday, losing to No. 2 seed Castilleja 3-2.
