On the day the first weekly rankings by the CIF State office were released, the numbers 14 and 15 teams faced off in the home opener for the Los Alamitos High girls volleyball team. The Griffins, ranked 14th, were hosting the Long Beach Wilson Bruins, who had earned the 15th ranking in the state.
Los Alamitos would eventually win the match in four sets, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 25-23. After splitting the first two sets, the Griffins were able to win the pivotal third set with a late 4-0 run that quickly closed out a tight game.
Leading 21-19, the Griffins got a point off a Bruin net violation. Sophomore outside hitter Brynn Minter followed with a cross-court kill and then a soft tap off a block that put the Griffins at set point, 24-19. Long Beach then hit a shot long to end the set.
In the fourth set, the Griffins got off to a quick start, taking a 9-1 lead and still led 13-6 before the Bruins began to chip away at the lead. When senior Chloe Pravednikov had a kill, followed by two hits out of bounds by the Griffins, the Bruins had cut the lead to 16-12.
Wilson would then go on a 4-0 run, with a kill off a block by junior Audrey Kovacs and an ace by senior Camille Agrupis. The Bruins had closed to within 17-16. When the Bruins went on a 5-0 that ended with a huge block for a point by senior Emiya Green, the Bruins had gained a 22-19 lead.
But the Griffins were able to stem the tide and regain the momentum. Sparked by kills by junior Katy Foley and Minter, as well as a block for a point by senior Elon Milroy, the Griffins were able to regain the lead, 23-22. After the Bruins tied the set, the Griffins got a point, when senior Kaia Herweg tapped down an overpass and Milrow closed out the match with a kill down the middle.
Herweg wound up leading the Griffins with 15 kills, 21 assists and 10 digs. Milrow had eight kills and three blocks and Foley had 11 kills with three blocks.
