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2007-2008
Antelope Valley Girl's
By CRAIG CURRIER
Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
They never did.
Warren made quick work of Lancaster for a 25-18, 25-15, 25-16 playoff win, eliminating the Golden League's runner-up in the first round of the Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs.
The Bears (17-9) were second-place finishers themselves, both in the San Gabriel Valley League this year and Division III-AA last year, where they lost to Valencia High of Placentia in the championship game.
There was nothing spectacular about Warren, but the Bears never made any mistakes. On the other side, Lancaster rode moments of greatness, but could not overcome its more prevalent times of ineptitude.
After seemingly playing better and better in each of the team's second-half matches this fall, Eagles coach Dave Gutierrez said he couldn't explain why the trend didn't continue in the postseason.
"This was just a bad match for us," he said. "They outplayed us defensively and they served really tough. We haven't seen a team that served that well in a while. We couldn't control the serve-receive pass."
A senior-laden team, the Eagles didn't seem affected by a long van ride to East L.A. that started around 2 p.m. in the Antelope Valley.
Lancaster (14-6) led the first game 10-7 and 12-10 before surrendering a five-point Warren run and then playing catch up the rest of the match.
Alectra Edison, Nicole Castro and Ashley Robinson were certainly capable along the front row for Lancaster, but the Eagles simply couldn't control the ball well enough to get it to their big hitters consistently.
The second game started much like the first, as Lancaster led 5-3 before going sour.
Trailing, 7-6, the Eagles surrendered eight of 10 points during a run that effectively ended their season. Lancaster did show life in the third game, going back and forth to a 7-7 tie early on. But the Bears scored 10 of the next 11 points to seize control.
A rally in the third game exemplified Lancaster's struggles Tuesday night.
Robinson, who was much taller than any of Warren's front-row players, went up and successfully blocked a kill attempt, though the ball just sat on the top of the net for a few seconds. Then it came back down on the Eagles' side.
Lancaster did control the ball and returned it over the net, but eventually lost the point - one the Eagles would typically have won in their matches over the past three weeks.
"They were a better team," Edison said. "Our passing just wasn't good tonight."
Edison, Robinson and Castro, along with Heather Black, Nicole Moran, Chelsea Parker, Sabrina Buie and Pegine Gray were all playing in their final match for Lancaster. It's the end of a run for Gutierrez and the Eagles, one that featured last year's Golden League title and this year's second-place finish to a talented Quartz Hill squad.
"I'm sad to see them go," junior libero Seferina Starks said. "It's like our whole team is leaving."
Starks took over as Lancaster's libero midway through the year and thrived in the role. She admittedly did not play her best Tuesday night, but said there were some positives to take going forward.
"We felt like we could play with them," Starks said. "We never thought we were getting killed, even if we were on the scoreboard.
"(Warren) is a solid team. We've got some good players coming up again next year."
